Undying Fires
by LadyBloodyTrinity
Summary: Nobodies have always plagued this land, lions with abilities far beyond their own. Xehanort is an old Nobody who looks to control everything, even if that means he has to steal cubs to do it. When he gets his claws on Lea and Isa however, he soon realizes some of these lions are beyond his control. Xemnas leads a group of them to escape, sparking Xehanort's fury and a war. Lion Au.
1. Inferno

**This is a Lion AU of Kingdom Hearts. It's not really a Pridelands one, but there will be a lot of familiar characters from Kingdom Hearts in this one, including some Disney and Final Fantasy characters. All of those will appear in this story to be lions. The Keyblades aren't really a thing, though the Organization is.**

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 **The story is from the eyes of Axel, who is watching this entire war unfold. Xehanort will still be the main villain, but Xemnas won't be Xehanort. The whole story will eventually be explained as we travel through it, and some of the characters will probably end up being very OOC. This whole story will probably end up that way. Also as a note, the lions age and grow about the same rate as humans in this story.**

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 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy. I thought there weren't nearly enough action based fan fiction with Axel as the main character, so I'm going to add that in. While he may become paired with someone later, I'll decide that when it comes to it, and it definitely won't be the main focus of the story by any means.**

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Chapter One: Inferno

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Lea remained crouched low in the grass, his claws digging into the earth as he saw his best friend apparently oblivious to his presence laying in the sun in front of him. Isa had always managed to get the jump on Lea before, but today he was finally going to beat him. He ignored the snickering of several lionesses as he crouched to spring on him, watching him silently. The tip of his tail twitched just slightly as he laid there.

No one could deny that Lea already had the makings of a great hunter, except for one problem. He was far too impatient and rash. Both Lea and Isa were young lions, small cubs that had already begun getting their manes in, though it was little more than small tufts on the tops of their heads.

Lea was a dark reddish brown color with a tan underbelly and bright green eyes. His mane was a dark red color that was tipped slightly orange and the roots were almost purple they were so dark. It was also slicked back over his head in long spikes.

Isa on the other hand was a light gray colored lion with a white underbelly and blue-gray eyes. His mane was sky blue and spiked back over his head as well, though his mane was already far more impressive than Lea's already. The two had been fast friends ever since they had first met in the pride, and they were hardly seen together. Really though, they couldn't be more different than night and day, which made it seem like they were odd friends.

Lea finally couldn't wait anymore and with a playful roar he leaped at Isa. Isa's ear twitched though and he was up in an instant, grabbing Lea by the scruff of his neck and tossing him to the ground. He then leaped on his friend and pinned him to the ground with his front paws, smirking down at the very annoyed Lea who tried to push him off.

"You make too much noise," Isa laughed. "Try being quieter next time."

"Get off me," Lea cried as he pushed again. Isa though was a larger cub and had no trouble pushing him back down and laughing.

"And learn some patience," Isa said.

As he said it though, he let his friend up, moving off to the side as the red lion leaped up and shook the dust off of his coat. Even as Lea shook off the last of the dirt, he began laughing too. Lea had always known that Isa had basically just been a bit better at everything than him. He didn't hold it against his friend, since he was pretty much the only cub that put up with him.

Some of the lionesses would help them, but most of the male lions in the pride ignored them, and the cubs weren't allowed to even talk to them by their leader, a large lion by the name of Milo. The two cubs had been founding wandering the savannah without their pride and without their parents. The two didn't remember much of their past lives themselves, but both of their prides had been destroyed as far as anyone knew.

They'd been living here for a year, growing as they did so. Apparently Milo was just waiting to see if anyone from their old pride would come looking for them. He didn't like them and he didn't want them around. He seemed very worried about outsiders, but he probably had good reason to. There were rumors of Nobodies wandering around again, lions said to have strange powers from birth that could only be awakened as they grew older and under certain conditions. Those were the kind of stories never told to cubs, about wars and terrible bloody battles that the Nobodies had fought in. Some were said to be good and others evil, but Milo feared them all and their wars.

The lionesses who had been laughing at the two young cubs suddenly fell silent, alerting Isa and Lea to the fact that they had seen something. Both whirled around quickly and looked up with wide eyes at the enormous male lion standing behind them. It was Milo, and though they'd never really had any fond memories of him, the fact that he had let them stay here, and was such a good leader, had left an impression on him. They both dropped their heads as they looked up at him.

He was a huge lion with an enormous chest and paws. He was a royal lion if the two had ever seen one, and his mane with the largest they'd ever seen. His mane was a dark black color, with the bangs parted down the middle. His large brown eyes seemed to be watching the two of them for a long moment. His coat was in striking contrast with his mane. It was a pale tan color, and his underbelly was white. They continued to watch him as for a long time he said nothing.

"Isa," Milo said, his deep voice seeming to command authority. "Lea, there is a lion here claiming to be part of your old pride. You will come with me, and we will see if this outsider speaks the truth."

Neither Lea or Isa said anything in response, looking towards each other. They both knew that there was no way they had come from the same pride, and they would have remembered if they had. And who would come here looking for them? They hardly remembered their parents, and even then barley just flashes of what had happened. Even so, they weren't ones to argue with Milo. The two cubs slowly stood and followed after Milo as he turned.

He made his way through the pride, several of which raised their heads and watched the three of them pass through. All six of the large males in the pride stood as well and began to follow them. Lea began to get a bad feeling as he looked around at all of their curious faces. What was going on? If it was just one outsider, why were they all coming? What did they have to worry about one single lion?

"Lea," Milo called softly.

Lea jumped, not having realized he'd stopped in the first place. He looked up and saw Isa giving him a concerned look, and Milo's eyes had seemed to soften for the first time since Lea had met him. He was pitying him. Even if the two cubs had remembered what had happened in their past, what had happened must have been very horrible indeed. And if they didn't, it could still be scary now that they thought they were going to meet someone from their past.

A male lion by the name of Joseph nudged Lea gently forward with his snout, giving him a comforting smile. The cub felt anything but comforted though and just ducked his head, running to catch up with Isa again. The blue maned cub gave him a purr and rubbed along his side, which did manage to calm Lea down a little bit as he did so. He quickly ran forward again to follow Milo, who turned upon seeing him moving again and began to walk forward again.

The group continued forward until they reached the edge of their pride's territory, a large rock formation that marked the border. Laying there and waiting patiently was an old male lion. He was tall and thin, speaking of much better days of his youth. His coat was a light silver color, and his underbelly was the same white color of his mane. His eyes however were an unsettling orange color. Just looking at him as the old lion stood made Lea uncomfortable.

The group approached the rock, and Lea and Isa both stopped, hiding just behind Milo's enormous front feet. Neither of them wanted to go near him. It was obvious that the old lion was more than he seemed to them. The old lion stood and purred, taking a step forward and lowering his head to the cubs. Milo's snarl quickly warned him back though, and the two cubs were suddenly more grateful to the pride's leader than ever.

"Ah," the old lion cooed in a gruff old voice. "Isa, Lea. Its so good to see you my boys. When I'd heard you were here, why my heart leaped for joy!"

"Back off," Milo snarled. "I don't trust you outsiders."

"What?" the old lion asked as if in surprise. "But Lea and Isa aren't from your pride."

"They are under my protection while they live here," he snarled. "Tell us your name, and how you know these boys."

"My name?" the old lion asked, as if surprised. "Why it's Ansem of course. And those two cubs lived with me in the pride. I'm glad that some of the young ones survived at least. Nobodies can truly be such terrible creatures."

At the mention of Nobodies the other males seemed to gasp and growl to one another, obviously as nervous as Milo was about them. While there were tales of some of them not being quite so devious as others, and even saving whole prides, most lions greatly feared the Nobodies for one reason. It was impossible to tell with those kinds of powers, which would grow to be the evil kind. Both Lea and Isa ducked behind Milo's feet more at the mention. Was that what had happened to their prides? Did this lion really know them?

One of the males however didn't look convinced. He was a young male that looked much like Milo, only not so large and with a dark purple mane instead of a black one. He snarled silently as he continued to watch the old lion. This was Milo's brother, a lion named Omar. Omar was known as being a scout for the pride, and if you wanted to know anything about what was happening in the world, you'd go to him. He obviously was not happy with Ansem.

"Now dear Lea," Ansem said, offering an old paw to the named cub. "come here. You must be tired, and lonely. Isa, come here my boy."

Neither cub moved, instead backing farther under Milo, who was beginning to eye the stranger suspiciously. He had never seemed to keen on having Lea and Isa around, but he made no move to try and get the two cubs back into the open. He let him continue to take shelter under him as they saw fit. The old lion chuckled and took a step forward.

"Come now," Ansem called softly. "What are you so afraid of?"

"It seems these cubs do not recognize you," Milo growled dangerously. "I will not be handing them over to some stranger."

Ansem laughed again, then seemed to change. Instead of looking so old, he suddenly drew himself up in height and looked Milo right in the eye. The challenge was clear, and he didn't flinch even once from the growls of warning from the other lions. The two cubs backed up farther in alarm at the fierce gaze of the older lion.

"Why Milo," he said dangerously. "I hadn't known you'd grown so soft. Truly you are as noble as they say, taking in two Nobodies which you have so feared."

There were several collective gasps from the group, and Milo stepped away from the two cubs in alarm. Lea and Isa had flattened themselves to the ground, their eyes as round and full of confusion as the other lions. They were Nobodies? That couldn't be true! They were normal lions! Many of the male lions began to back away, a new light of suspicion in their gazes as they looked at the two cubs. Omar however had yet to move.

"What?" Milo growled in a far more sinister tone. "They're _what_?"

"Nobodies," Ansem said with a smile, stepping closer to the two cubs. None of the other lions had moved to stop them, though Omar began to growl. "That's what they are. Why, I didn't want to alarm you, however young Nobodies can prove so easily trained. That's what I do of course, make sure they become the best young lions they could be. Of course, if you'd let me take them, all of this would go so much easier."

Milo said nothing, and Lea could hear his heart hammering in his ears. Slowly the old lion stepped forward again, closer to the cubs. He was moving slowly, carefully, making sure that he came ever closer. He was slowly growing within reach of Lea, definitely close enough to bend down and pick him up. Lea felt his heart stop a moment as the old lion look down at him, a light of triumph shining in his eyes as he paused there.

"It is entirely your choice however," he cooed to Milo. "They are, as you said, under your protection after all."

"Back off," Omar suddenly roared.

With a single bound the lion leaped between the two frightened cubs and the old lion. Ansem leaped back with a snarl as the growling lion stood over the two cubs. With a single paw he nudged Isa towards his chest, and both cubs leaped under it as the lion bent lower so that his chest was nearly touching their backs. Isa and Lea huddled closer together as they continued to peer out from under Omar's chest at the snarling Ansem.

"Omar," Milo snarled. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You cannot let him take them," he snarled back. "It will only end heartache for all of us!"

"They are Nobodies," Milo snarled in a tone that made the two cubs flinch. "I will not have their kind here!"

"That is not Ansem," Omar snapped.

There was a long moment of silence as everyone seemed to try and piece the information together. The scout however just continued to snarl and hide the two cubs under his chest. Ansem however just seemed to smile as he watched Omar, seeming to find his presence funny for some reason. The purple maned lion however didn't seem like he wanted to just let the old lion past him however and continued to snarl in warning.

"You're not Ansem," he snarled to the old lion. "I've heard about you. You're Xehanort. You steal cubs and train them to be murderers, make them into Nobodies. Well, what do you want with these cubs? I won't let you touch them."

"Perhaps your brother has been in the song too long," Xehanort laughed. "What accusations!"

"Brother," Milo said, his voice sounding more like a growl than anything. "Step aside."

"No," Omar snapped.

Xehanort let out a dark chuckle, all charades gone. The other male lions began to back away in surprise as they saw the cruel orange eyes that were looking back at them. His tail flicked just slightly, and from behind the rocks came several young male lions, all with different colors of coats and manes. None of them were as old or large as the fully grown lions here, however as they began to snarl at them, Isa and Lea instantly noticed that there were many of them. The old lion chuckled again.

"If you won't move," he said. "then I'll take those two by force. I've been chasing them too long to let them get away now."

Milo and the other males looked unnerved and were now snarling at the new comers, but Omar had refused to move from his post over the two cubs. At another flick of his tail however the young males had leaped at the group. Cracks of thunder and spikes of earth seemed to shoot up all around them, and other such strange things started happening. Milo and the other males began to retreat with snarls and yelps, running from the Nobodies that were attacking them. Lea realized quickly that this was the first time he'd seen a Nobody attacking.

Omar refused to move however and swiped his large paws at the Nobodies that drew closer. However as he did so, Lea knew that he would quickly get overwhelmed by the number of Nobodies attacking. One slammed into him hard, making him go tumbling over the two cubs and out of the way. Before Lea realized what was happening a dark black muzzle closed over his back and lifted him off of his paws, carrying him away from Isa and Omar quickly.

"Lea," he heard Isa gasp in alarm to find his friend missing.

The male that was holding him didn't stop though and just kept running as Omar leaped up to try and stop him. The other creatures continued to attack though, trying to overwhelm the larger lion and grab Isa. It was obvious that they didn't want to hurt the two cubs, seeing how the lion's grip was firm but rather gentle. Lea felt fear hammering in his throat as he tried to struggle out of the lion's grasp. He was far too small though.

The sound of roaring followed the cub for a while as he finally tired himself out, and the older cub stopped and waited, turning to look behind him. Lea looked up in alarm as he saw a dark brown lion carrying Isa, who looked about as scared as Lea felt. The young males began to regroup, Xehanort chuckling to himself and walking up to the two lions holding the two young cubs in their mouths. He looked them over.

"Two worthy candidates," he said. "It certainly took some time to finally catch you again, nearly had to destroy three prides just to get you. But here you are. Come my children, let us welcome your new brothers to their new home."

Xehanort continued to chuckle as he turned and began to make his way ahead of them and towards his new destination. Lea and Isa both continued to struggle for a long moment more, but the two lions didn't respond or let them go. The other lions surrounded them as they began walking after Xehanort, saying nothing. And Lea couldn't help but wonder fearfully where they were going, and what was going to happen to them now.

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 **There was the end of chapter one. There will be some time skips in this story, but not for some time, not until after their training commences and the others begin gathering together. It'll be rather fun to see what the two cubs are doing and what they do as they begin to fight and become more like the Nobodies we know.**

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 **Other characters we know will come in, as well as some characters that hadn't existed before now. When everything starts moving together it'll certainly be a very interesting story. For now though we'll have to wait to see what happens in the next chapter.**


	2. Starlight

**Here we go with chapter two. This story will again, have some time skips. For the first couple of chapters however there won't be any. Since these lions live the same length of lives and age and grow at the same rate, we'll also see as some other characters begin to get added into the mix. Again, many characters will be OOC, and no, Xemnas isn't the same person as Xehanort in this story, only very similar.**

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 **Everything will probably be explained as I write more, but again, this is an AU. There will be no reason for flames because everything isn't exactly how it is in Kingdom Hearts. I know the story of Kingdom Hearts, obviously, or I wouldn't be writing a fan fiction about it. I purposely changed the story.**

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Chapter Two: Starlight

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Lea had no idea how far they'd walked, only that they hadn't seemed to stop for ages. Isa had tried escaping several times at first, or sometimes even tried to reach the muzzle of the lion holding Lea to try and make him drop his friend, but all of those attempts had ending in failure. He'd given up on doing that several hours ago and was just hanging there limply and watching Lea with big sad eyes. Those were the kind of eyes that Lea had never wanted to see his best friend looking at him with. Eyes with no hope.

Not that Lea could really say he had hope about anything either. He had no idea where they were going or how long they were going to be traveling, only knowing that they were going far away and all of these lions seemed capable of walking forever. He also knew that no one else had followed them, so obviously Omar was hurt, and Milo just didn't care what happened to them. Thinking of the older lion just filled Lea with an aching confusion. He'd trusted him, but now he had no idea what he was even supposed to think of him.

The scenery around the two cubs began to change as they waited there silently for hours more. The ground beneath their paws began to grow into hard rock, not the grassy plains of their home far away behind them. Large canyon walls began to rise around them as well, matching the dusty brown color of the rock beneath their feet. The towering structures were far larger than any the two cubs had ever seen before, and they felt their hearts racing as they looked up with wide eyes at the lions and lionesses waiting above them, looking down at the two tiny cubs with expecting eyes.

Xehanort turned to look at the two of them and chuckle, seeming to find their reaction amusing. However he didn't stop walking, and neither did the two older cubs carrying the two smaller ones. He went to the center of the long and winding road they were on, stepping up onto a natural rock platform. The other lions began to gather around, all craning their necks to look up at the two cubs. Lea and Isa were dropped onto the platform.

A large gray paw wrapped around Lea's shoulders as Xehanort smiled at the other cubs here. The other was wrapped around Isa, who didn't look very happy about this at all. Neither one of them tried to bite the paw or pull away. They doubted the lions that were watching them like hawks would let them get away with that.

"My children," Xehanort called. "your new brothers have arrived. Come now, they are young, and very obedient." The way he said it sent shivers down Lea's spine, which the old lion only chuckled at. "Ah yes. They need a teacher don't they? Who would be willing to teach them?"

A roar punctured the air, the kind of roar Lea and Isa had only ever heard the sentries make. At the sound the lions began to part to let a large black female through. She had a snarling little orange female in her jaws, which didn't look very happy at all. She dropped the girl on the platform with a hiss and stepped back again as Xehanort stood and walked over to the young lioness, offering a paw to her and a smile.

"There there child," he cooed. "This will be your new home. Come, you must be tired from the journey."

The snarling little female swatted at his paw, drawing blood from it. The older lions all began to hiss and snarl, obviously not happy with her. Xehanort stepped back, shaking his paw as he chuckled and licked at the little trail of blood running down his paw. Both Isa and Lea looked up in surprise at the anger that the other lions were now showing to the young lioness. It was evident that these creatures were trained to kill, and they liked it. Maybe it was like Omar had said, and Lea wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to figure out why that was.

"Well," Xehanort said with a chuckle. "what fire she has. Well, who would like to take this little one under their wing?" He waited, smiling. The older cubs began straining forward, snarling at her. "No one? Very well. You know the rules. Kill her."

Three of the older cubs leaped onto the little orange female, tearing her apart in seconds. Lea quickly back up into Isa, who had seemed to freeze as they both stared with wide eyes at the scene. The little lioness they had never even learned the name of was soon dead on the rock next to them. They could feel their hearts hammering in their chests even harder than before. Would that happen to them if they weren't picked by anyone?

"Now," Xehanort said in a pleasant tone, as if this was normal. "What about these two little ones, hm? Would anyone like to-"

A second roar pierce the air, but this one was different from before. It wasn't one to let them all know that someone had brought another cub in, but one that the two cubs knew meant only one thing: _move_. The older cubs practically leaped out of the way of the lion that came towards them. He was only a few years older than Isa and Lea were, evident by the amount of his dark silver, almost gray mane that had grown in.

He was absolutely massive though, easily already the size that Omar was. His fur was a light silver color like starlight with a white underbelly. His eyes were a bright orange. Behind him came another large male, a black male with a white underbelly. One of his eyes was closed, with claw marks over it, the right one. The left that was visible was a bright yellow color. His mane that had grown in was black with streaks of silver running through it.

The larger male looked up at the platform and saw the two cowering cubs that were watching him, and the dead female that was lying not far away from them. They made their way over as well, looking up at the two cubs. A dark red female reached up and nudged Lea with her paw though, seeming to be watching him for a long moment. She smiled and chuckled as he backed up from her.

"He's so small," she laughed. "What a-"

She never finished her sentence another roar tore through the air and a huge silver paw swiped at her. She and the rest of the front row leaped back. Lea's eyes went wide however as the same paw reached out and scooted him back against a large silver chest. He looked up and saw the orange eyed young male, who was snarling at them all. The black male followed after him up onto the platform, hissing at the other older cubs.

"If you remember Xira," the silver male hissed in a deep and powerful voice. "I was a small cub too. Can you say I am small now?"

The other older cubs looked down and backed up quickly, giving the platform yet more space. Not even the lions behind them who had their toes and tails tread on in the retreat so much as showed their teeth to the others. It was obvious that this older cub was both feared and well respected here. Lea said nothing, just stared at Isa with wide and frightened eyes.

"So Xemnas," Xehanort said as he stepped forward again. "You wish to take that one and train him? He's yours then."

"No," Xemnas snarled. "I'm taking them both."

There were murmurs of surprise from around the entire compound as the older cubs looked at the surprised young ones and the large silver one. Even Xemnas' black companion seemed to look at him with his one good eye, which was wide in surprise. Xemnas rose to his full height, placing his enormous paw down on the ground and meeting Xehanort's gaze with a clearly challenging one. This only seemed to make the old lion chuckle as Isa quickly ran to Lea and ducked under the larger lion's chest as well.

"How ambitious of you," Xehanort said. "Yet not unexpected. You want them both then? Fine. Take them. Train them well. I'll be expecting a lot out of them since they're your students. Go then, give them their new names and be done with it. The rest of you, we have work to do, yes?"

With a few glances towards the center platform the rest of the lions dispersed, following Xehanort as he led them towards yet another part of the canyon that the two cubs had yet to see yet. Lea could feel his paws shaking as he sat there, staring at the little orange cub. That could have been him. The larger black male turned to look at the cubs, nudging Isa with his nose, and getting a spitting hiss from him as he did so.

"Well then," he said, ignoring Isa's hiss. "What are you going to do with these two Xemnas? They look scared out of their minds, not that I can blame them. But are you sure you can handle two of them?"

"Xigbar," Xemnas said, addressing his friend. "Help me carry them. I have work to do."

Lea saw him lean down and then he nudged his back gently with his nose. Knowing he wanted to pick him up, Lea hunched his shoulders and said nothing as the huge silver muzzle closed over his back and picked him up for the second time that day. Unlike the others though, he was very gentle with him. Xigbar managed to get Isa to stop trying to claw his remaining eye out for a moment long enough to pick him up as well, though he also seemed to find it funny.

Lea and Isa said nothing as the two older lions turned and carried them away again, but this time it wasn't farther inside the main canyon, but up a path and off to another smaller rock formation farther away. Several of these dotted the top of the canyon walls, which even still continued to climb higher up towards the sky. Xemnas, who was in the lead, continued up many of these paths and past deserted caves until he reached one of the topmost parts of the entire canyon.

A large network of caves greeted them here, and Lea couldn't help but be surprised at the size of them. They were also so high up that he feared looking back down at the dizzying drop below. Xigbar, upon reaching the top, placed Isa down, who did not look happy about any of this situation. He even bowed up and hissed at the two older cubs. Xigbar seemed to again find this amusing, and Xemnas only gave him a pitying glance.

Xigbar let out a soft barking roar that was meant to gather close lions to their location. Lea had heard Milo use the same kind of roar many times to gather the male lions without alerting or worrying the females, especially those with young cubs. In answer to the call, four more lions appeared. They were all young males, and all appeared to be around the same age as Xemnas and Xigbar were. Only these males were all various sizes and colors, and it was obvious to the two young cubs that none of them were related, and probably hadn't known each other before.

The older cubs that approached appeared to be instantly interested in the two young cubs, first turning to look at Lea, who Xemnas had yet to put down. It was probably because he wasn't sure how Isa would react if he put him down, and at least this way he knew the gray cub wouldn't go running off any time soon. As the older cubs drew closer, Lea got a good long look at all of their faces. He said nothing and just stared at them all with wide eyes.

The first to approach was a smaller cub. It was evident that he was around the same age as Xemnas and Xigbar, except he was only about half Xigbar's size and there for not much larger than the two cubs. However, the confident way he already walked told Lea that he was already strong, and probably often underestimated because of his size.

He was a light gray color, even lighter than Isa, and what had grown in on his mane was a steel blue color, the bangs of it parted so they fell long over his right eye. His eyes were sky blue, and his underbelly was white. He also had white socks on his feet, making him stand out even more than what had grown in on his mane.

This lion nudged Lea gently with his nose in a quite greeting and carefully bent his nose down next to Isa, who was no longer hissing but didn't look happy still and continued to glare at the newcomers. The first lion stepped back and another came forward, a much larger lion.

This one was tall and a dark gray color, though the fur grew much darker around his paws, almost black. What had come in on his mane was black, and long strands of it hung down over his violet eyes. His underbelly was a gray color, and he was one of the largest young males Lea had ever seen, broader than Xigbar but shorter than Xemnas.

This young male seemed to be watching the two younger cubs rather than actually greeting them. He said nothing though and quickly backed away at the look that Xemnas gave him, something that obviously made him nervous but Lea couldn't see. A much lighter young lion stepped forward then, careful to bow his head to the much larger Xemnas.

This one was a pale tan color, almost white, and his underbelly was white. His eyes were a bright green color, contrasting the light blonde mane that he had beginning to grow in. the bangs of that mane were already long and hung well down past his chin, giving him a shaggy, yet not unattractive look. He was thin and one of the smaller males.

The last was by far the broadest lion, though not nearly as tall as Xemnas. He was a simple grown color, and his underbelly was white. His eyes were a bright blue, though the mane that had grown in was ginger in color and was smoothed back into irregular spikes, giving him an even shaggier appearance than the one before. Instead of looking ridiculous however, it only looked rather intimidating.

He stepped up after the blonde one moved, carefully peering down at the two younger cubs as he did so. Whatever all of them were thinking however, they seemed to find it odd that Xemnas had yet to put Lea down. They all turned to look at Xigbar expectantly then, who was yawning rather loudly and seemed bored already.

"You both took students?" the blonde one asked.

"No," Xigbar replied, stretching and showing Lea the various scars that ran down his sides that he hadn't seen before. "Xemnas took students."

"Two of them?" the gray one with socks gasped.

"That's right," Xigbar said, ignoring the shocked expression that the rest of the lions were now giving Xemnas. "Oh right, guess they'll be living with us now, seeing how they'll be joining our squad. All right kids listen up." He pointed first to the brown lion. "This is Lexeaus." He then pointed to the smallest lion with socks. "This is Zexion." He pointed at the blonde lion. "This is Vexen." Finally he pointed at the dark lion. "And this is Xaldin. Got it?"

Xemnas turned again and looked at Xigbar, giving him a pointed look. He shared the same look with all of the other lions. For a moment nothing was said, and no one did anything either. Lea and Isa were both left there, completely confused by the silent exchange that all of these lions seemed to be having with one another. It was more of an understanding than anything though, because they all stepped back and nodded.

Xemnas turned and began to follow yet another path that led yet farther up. Lea glanced back and saw Zexion nudge Isa gently forward with his nose. Isa didn't have to be told twice though and quickly ran after Xemnas, obviously not comfortable with letting his smaller friend out of his sight. Within moments the other lions were out of sight and the caves were beginning to grow smaller as well as Xemnas turned to a path that was obviously not used much.

As he reached the top of the rock however, the path ended and they were left looking out at the rocky lands in front of them, or the grasslands that were distantly behind. Xemnas gently put Lea down on his own paws, making sure that he was steady on them before he gently let go and stepped forward. He sat at the very edge of the cliff, looking out towards the sunset and just waiting quietly. Lea turned to look at him, thinking that he looked very sad suddenly.

Isa ran to Lea and rubbed his side along his smaller friend's purring to him as he did so and giving Xemnas a clear glare. As the older lion looked back at them however, that glare softened before he'd even realized why it had. The older cub motioned the two smaller ones forward with his paw, simply watching him with those huge sad eyes of his. This time, it was Isa who stepped forward first and sat beside the lion. Lea finally stepped forward and sat beside his friend.

"What is this place?" Isa asked finally after a long span of silence.

"Xehanort's pride," Xemnas replied. "He steals cubs and turns them into Nobodies. Those that are seen as too weak or not obedient are killed."

"Why don't you just leave?" Lea asked. Xemnas turned to look down at him.

"I've thought of it," he replied quietly. "Truly I have. However many things must happen before then. And those who do follow me are not strong enough yet."

"But then what does Xehanort want?" Isa asked.

"I have no idea."

For a long while the three just sat in utter silence and watching the sun go down. Lea had always used to like watching the sunset, loving to see the red, orange and purple hues light up the sky. Somehow it wasn't nearly as comforting as it had been before, but he couldn't help but find himself calming a little bit as he watched it. Looking back, nobody in the old pride would probably even miss them, and certainly not Milo. He had always been scared of outsiders, even cubs.

Their future was uncertain, and they were now surrounded by lions that they didn't know, living a life where only death and power was the law. It wasn't exactly shaping up to be the best life. And what would end up becoming of the two of them? Would they change and become savage murderers like the other lions? Or could they remain more like Xemnas seemed to be?

Xemnas seemed to be able to tell what the two cubs were thinking and turned his eyes down to look at them again, seeming to just watch them for a long moment. He let out a tired sounding sigh, sounding a lot more exhausted than he had before. Lea got the feeling that he wasn't as scary or tough as he was always pretending.

"What are your names?" he asked. "Living here, you'll have to change them."

"Why?" Isa asked.

"I'm not too sure," Xemnas replied. "But I'd rather forget my old life anyway. I can't ever be what I was before, so I'd rather go by my new name, wouldn't you?"

"But what is it getting changed to?" Isa asked, not seeming to want to let it go.

"It's not hard," Xemnas replied. "You just rearrange the letters and add an X. My name before was Ansem, after an older lion in my pride. Rearranged and with the X however, I became Xemnas."

They'd have to change their names? Lea wasn't sure he wanted that. What would he be if he wasn't Lea anymore? He could hardly remember anyone from his old pride before he and Isa had been taken in by Milo's, and he didn't really have any friends other than Isa in that old pride either. He could understand though why Xemnas had wanted to change his name. Omar had said that Xehanort trained Nobodies to be killers, and in a place like this, did they have a choice? Something about the whole situation seemed broken and messed up to Lea.

"It's Lea," he finally said quietly. Isa turned to look at his friend, but his ears fell sadly.

"Isa," the gray cub said.

Xemnas nodded and then waited quietly for a long time. He closed his eyes and just seemed to be thinking for a long time. Isa watched the moon rise slowly, seeming almost unable to look away. Isa and Lea had always watched the sunsets together when they had been younger, but Isa preferred the cool light of the moon than the bright colors of day. Lea tried to watch it with him, but just felt tired and confused. Finally, Xemnas looked up again.

"Saix," he said, turning to look at Isa. The gray cub nodded in understanding, knowing that this was the name he'd answer to for probably the rest of his life. Xemnas then turned and looked at Lea. "Axel."

Slowly the newly named Axel nodded his head in understanding. Xemnas seemed to watch the two sadly for a long moment, but something in their eyes told him that he didn't have to warn them. These two were already understanding that here, weakness was a crime and so was nostalgia. If they tried to hold onto their old names they'd only get torn apart. There was something final about their new names, something that said they'd be living very differently from now on, or they'd die.

"Tomorrow you will be injected," Xemnas continued. "That's how we get our powers. You two will need to stay near me, or any of the others you just met. They'd help protect you. But until we figure out what your powers will be, it'll be dangerous for you to walk alone."

"I-Injected?" Axel gasped in confusion.

"It will hurt," Xemnas sighed. "But if you refuse it you'll be killed. You two have already showed your will to live. Don't make them think otherwise now."

Both cubs nodded and gulped. It was a lot to take in, but neither of the cubs wanted to die, or to lose their only friend in the world. It seemed like Xemnas wanted to keep them alive as well, though he didn't try to offer them a smile or condolences. He told them exactly how it was going to be, and how they were going to live. Axel got the feeling that he didn't really know how to act like a normal cub his age anymore.

"Come on," Xemnas said suddenly. "it'll be cold tonight, and you're tired. Lets got get some sleep."

Xemnas stood and turned, walking down the path he had gone before. Not wanting to get left behind and around any of the other lions, the two younger cubs quickly ran to follow behind him as he made his way down the paths towards the caves where he had left the others. The two cubs ran a bit to catch up to him, but followed him closely. They could at least somewhat trust Xemnas and the others, and they didn't want to get left behind.

Soon they'd reached the caves, and Xemnas went straight inside. As the two cubs ran in and paused in the mouth of the cave, the others had all stood again to come greet the two young cubs. They were introduced by their new names to the group, and several of them greet them with purrs and having the much larger older cubs rub their heads against them. Maybe they were trying to calm them down, knowing this was all very confusing for them.

Either way, the two were ushered over by the rest of the group near Xemnas, who'd laid down in the back of the cave. Axel laid down first, peering up at the older cubs worriedly as they made their way over to the back of the cave as well. Saix laid down next to his friend, pushing his side as far up against his friend's as he could. Axel wasn't sure if he was scared or not, but he was glad that he was there for him.

The others all curled up close to the cubs and Xemnas, obviously comfortable enough with each other to even lay against (or in some cases) across each other. The two cubs had seen this behavior countless times by the older lions in Milo's pride, where they would almost reaffirm their ties with one another, and also relax and unwind from the day. They didn't touch the two cubs though, just letting them drift off to sleep on their own.

Axel was too tired to try and complain much, and Saix wasn't moving. Within a few minutes, even confused and lost with all of the older lions around him, he had drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 **The next chapter will be showing how Axel and Saix get their powers, and how they're going to start evolving in this story. Again, there will be some OOC things going on in this story, and we'll see them starting to become more like we know them from the games. There will be time skips and such before the rest of the story starts happening, but I hope you enjoy as much as I'm having fun writing this story.**


	3. Nobody

**Here we go with chapter three. This one will be where the two will be getting their powers through this "injection" and such. Xehanort, as usual, is up to no good. We'll also get to be seeing Axel powers first as well because Xira is being Xira. She's not really a main character, only one that serves to annoy the hell out of Axel.**

* * *

 **This chapter will explain the main plot of this story and how all of this really came about, except of course what Xehanort is really planning. Some familiar names will pop up as well, as well as some similar scenarios to the main story of Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Nobody

* * *

"-still good for him," Axel heard Zexion say as he found himself being rudely awaken by Lexaeus bumping him. "Maybe having some cubs around will help him-"

"Sorry Axel," the larger brown lion said to let everyone know the cub was awake.

The conversation that had been going on hushed before had no instantly stopped. Axel yawned and looked up, noticing that Zexion and Vexen were facing one another and had obviously been the ones talking. What they had been talking about, Axel had now idea. When Axel moved a bit Saix woke up from the movement as well. The two cubs looked around, noticing that Xaldin, Xemnas, and Xigbar were now no where in sight.

The two cubs raised their heads to look up at the older lions that had still remained behind in the caves. They weren't entirely sure what was going on, or how to react to the fact that they were all watching them with the same kind of sad eyes. It was the first time that Axel realized how absolutely hopeless all of these older cubs felt, how broken they already seemed. This whole place seemed like it was full of some kind of sickness, one no one knew how to combat.

"Well," Vexen said, standing and looking towards the two young cubs. "Since you're up, we might as well go get something to eat. Stay close."

The two cubs slowly nodded and stood as well, letting the older cubs flank them as Vexen led them all out from behind the cave and down towards the main area of the camp where Xehanort was building his army. They could already hear roars and snarls from down below, where the entire large group was already fighting amongst themselves for the food that they'd be getting for the morning. The closer they got, the more the older cubs began to snarl, and the more nervous Saix and Axel found themselves becoming as well.

It was clear that the smaller cubs like themselves were pushed to the side and probably wouldn't be able to get anything other than the meager portions that were left. In this place the only rule that was prevalent in this place was that the stronger survived and the weak died. It was a cruel place, but even the two tiny cubs understood why. If Xehanort was really trying to build an army, he could only afford to keep the strong.

With snarls Vexen and Lexaeus leaped into the center of the fray towards the meat, leaving the two startled cubs behind with the smaller Zexion. The older cub sat down and waited, snarling at any of the other lions that came too close to the small cubs under him, including tiny ones smaller than even these two. This group wasn't like the others. It was far more close knit, and they were also ones to look after one another. Perhaps that's why they were one of the strongest squads.

Saix and Axel quickly lost sight of the two in the snarling crowd, the many colored coats becoming a mass of writhing claws and fangs. The two felt even more nervous as they saw the snarling masses. This is how they were going to live from now on? They weren't too sure that they wanted to live like this. Zexion snarled at a larger female that inched closer to the two cubs, watching them for a long moment, but she quickly backed up.

Another one of the cubs inched forward, obviously very hungry and wanting some of the meat. He looked far too thin, and obviously hadn't been eating. Only that kind of desperation could have driven him into that barking mass of lions. He was small, and made it about half way through the mass before an angry male tore into him. Sevearl other lions leaped on the screaming cub as well, killing him in a few seconds. Axel and Saix both backed up, appalled, to see that they were eating him as well. Zexion snarled and nosed the two cubs farther away.

Very few of the lions could actually just walk up to the front of the pile and grab a piece of meat, then walk away with it. They were all older lions, and they had a lot of scars on their bodies. When these strolled into the mass however the other lions leaped out of their way. None of them tried to fight past them or even so much as touch them. Then when they were gone the fighting would begin again, more angry than before. It wasn't a pretty picture, but Axel and Saix both recognized these as veterans of this little feeding game, as well as strong and well respected individuals.

After a few more long minutes Vexen and Lexeaus leaped back out of the pile of bodies, both carrying a large haunch of meat in their jaws. They both were sporting many wounds that they hadn't had before, but they smiled to Zexion and the two cubs, taking the meat over to the side where they wouldn't be bothered. Then to the surprise of the two little cubs, they were nosed towards it first.

"You'll need your strength," was all Zexion told them, getting nods from the other two.

They were both very hungry, haven't eaten the day before or today. They quickly tore into the meat, becoming the savage animals that lions often were while eating. Saix however they noticed, would swat at them and hiss to warn them back, but would often completely ignore Axel whenever he got closer to him. Axel didn't snarl at Saix either, though he would snarl to warn the others back. They did quickly notice that they were already fast friends.

When the two cubs had finished and stepped back to groom the blood off of their coats, Zexion went next. The cubs watched this with some fascination. Usually the larger lions would eat first, and others would have what was left. Here however, they were sure to feed the smaller ones first, and let them eat their fill. There was plenty of meat here for all five of them that were here, but they knew that this kind of behavior was odd, and why several other squads were eying them with disgust. Lexeaus and Vexen snarled any intruders back though.

When Zexion was done, Vexen went next, quickly eating as well as Zexion began to clean his fur as the two cubs had done earlier. He also made sure though to nudge the two cubs back towards the center of the group, where Lexeaus continued to keep watch as Vexen ate. When he was done, the largest lion with their group then ate what was left. Axel couldn't help but watch them all with a little surprise. They hardly knew him and Saix, yet they were already trying to take such good care of them? No one else had seemed like that.

Axel felt eyes on him however and looked up. He found the dark red female with the white underbelly and dark violet eyes who had suggested they kill him from yesterday, Xira, right? She seemed to chuckle and find him funny, even smiling at him and offering her shoulder as if to invite him to follow her. Axel got the feeling that he didn't want to, and quickly hunkered down.

"Why does she keep looking at me?" he wondered aloud.

"Who?" Zexion asked.

He stood and turned to see who it was that was looking at Axel, and instantly spotted Xira and her smile at the cub. He leaped forward so he was standing over the cub and began snarling at her, showing all of his teeth. His mane seemed to begin floating a little, a rather impressive feat, and Axel realized he was ready to use his powers to get her to go away.

As soon as he had, both Lexeaus and Vexen's heads snapped up in surprise. When they saw Xira however they instantly leaped up as well. The blood from the recent meal still on Lexeaus' coat made him seem more intimidating than before. Xira continued to smile at Axel but took a step back as if to tell them she meant no harm. It was obvious that the three older cubs didn't buy it. It wasn't until she laughed and walked out of sight that they relaxed at all.

"That's Xira," Zexion snarled. "Stay away from her. She likes to kill cubs for sport."

"What did she want?" Vexen demanded in an angry tone, still looking after the lioness.

"She was looking at Axel," Saix explained. That only seemed to make Lexeaus and Vexen bristle more.

"Stay close today," Lexeaus told Axel, nudging him rather roughly with his muzzle. Axel just managed to nod to him.

Even though Saix and Axel were both larger cubs and getting to the point where lionesses wouldn't carry them, Axel felt Lexeaus reach down and pick him up in his jaws. Vexen quickly picked up Saix as well and the three older cubs turned to return to their caves and get as far away from Xira as possible today. This behavior was odd, and usually male lions would never carry cubs unless absolutely necessary, thus getting more dirty looks from the lions below.

It was obvious that this group was one of a kind, and the other lions didn't really like or understand why they were so close in a society like this where it was mostly them against everyone else. Even so, Axel was glad this was where he'd ended up. He'd hated to have been killed or even taken in by another lion, like Xira for example. Scratch that, if it had been Xira he probably would have been already dead. Saix probably would have been fine, but Axel had always been second best to him.

The three older cubs didn't stop until they'd reached the top however and reentered their caves. There they finally put the two cubs down gently on their own paws, letting them scamper away and peer around again. Saix and Axel sat down in the back of the cave together, curiosity obviously beginning to get the better of them.

"Where is Xemnas?" Saix finally asked. "And Xigbar, and Xaldin?"

"Away," Zexion answered with a sigh as he laid down near the two cubs. Vexen and Lexeaus soon joined him. "We're known as one of the best squads, so most lions don't mess with us around here. But that also means some of us are almost always on guard duty. Vexen and I will be taking you two down today for your injection."

"About that," Axel asked a little nervously. "What does that...mean?"

"Well," Vexen said, the sparkle in his eyes telling the two smaller cubs that this was right around his type of scenario. "its where you get your powers. You see, Xehanort used to work for a lion called Ansem the Wise, who was studying the appearance of Heartless. You do know what Heartless are, right?"

The two cubs nodded. Heartless were creatures that appeared to look like lions, but had lost their hearts. Their only apparent goal was to steal the hearts of those around them, and there were few creatures that could defeat them, some of them being "Keys" and others being Nobodies. This had sparked the wars between the Nobodies in the first place.

Keys on the other hand were much rarer lions, those being creatures with pure light in their hearts and the ability to not only fight the Heartless, but recover the hearts that were stolen by them. Nobodies didn't have this ability, losing the hearts that were stolen into the darkness until a Key could set them free. Even so, they had been a big help when there was once a war between the Nobodies and Keys against the Heartless. It was the kind of things that were told to cubs to scare them into doing what they were told, but they were told nonetheless.

"Anyway," Vexen continued. "Ansem the Wise wanted to test if they could create Nobodies to help them fight the Heartless until the new Keys were born. They made a way to make one too, almost like a disease. Its spread through contact of blood."

"Its not as easy as it sounds," Zexion explained to the two perplexed cubs. "For one, it takes a lot of blood just to turn a cub your size into one of our own. An adult lion would kill three of us just to make into one of us. It takes way too much blood to try and turn adults, and Xehanort can't train adults. That's why he wants the cubs. That's also why the lions who trade blood with the cubs are known as their 'Blood' brothers or sisters, and why they have similar powers."

"But what does he want?" Saix asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

"We're not sure," Lexeaus replied with a sigh. "Rumor has it that he stole the power and made himself into a Nobody, then has others pass it through the injection. That's why we change our names, because who would want lions diseased like us?"

Again the two cubs paused at the sheer sadness that they could sense coming off of all of the other lions in the cave here. Their faces were downcast and sad as well, showing how hopeless they felt the situation really was. The two cubs looked towards one another, forming the same thought at the same time. They stood and approached the three older cubs, purring and rubbing their small flanks along their chests.

It did the trick though, seeming to startle the three older cubs out of their thoughts. They blinked down at the smaller cubs as well, but then allowed themselves to smile and purred back to the two, rubbing their much larger heads against the two as they made their rounds past all three of them. Having rubbed against all three, the two cubs laid down again much closer than before, smiling and laughing a little at them. The three older cubs continued to smile and purr to the two as if they'd known them a lot longer than just a few hours, like they were their younger siblings.

The calmer and happier atmosphere didn't last long though, and they all raised their heads. Even by now Saix and Axel recognized Xehanort's roar. He was calling for them, and for any of the other young cubs that had recently been brought in. It was time for them to join the ranks of his Nobodies here in his compound. Vexen and Zexion stood, turning to look at the smaller cubs. Vexen nudged Saix gently with his nose, and Zexion nudged Axel. It was a silent command for them to follow them. The two cubs leaped after them as they turned to follow the paths down.

They went to the same main area of the compound that they had arrived in yesterday, only now the older lions were all watching from above. Three other young cubs their age were brought forward by older lions as well to the middle, where Xehanort was waiting. He smiled at all of them gently, though his eyes held a cruel malice that Axel could now see clearly. As they approached he stood and purred to them, though Vexen, Axel, Saix, and Zexion refused to purr back.

"My children," he purred. "today is a great day. Today we welcome your new brothers and sisters in with us, to get their powers and join a greater family than the fools who cast them out. I however do see their greatness, and we will set them on the correct path. Come young ones. Your Blood brothers and sisters have been chosen."

He stepped off the main platform and away, turning to look at the cubs and wait for them to step forward. Zexion and Vexen had their lips into tight lines, and they were saying nothing. Axel could tell that the older lions were watching them though, waiting for any signs of weakness from those below. He couldn't be weak, not here. He slowly stepped forward and walked towards where Xehanort was waiting, looking up at him. Saix was just behind, and this made the older lion chuckle and nudge Axel forward with his nose.

"Such a brave young lad," he said. "Clearly, size isn't everything. Ah now there's two. Come you three, we must leave."

Slowly the remaining three followed him away from the older cubs and down a long and narrow path. There were no other eyes to watch them here, but large caves dotted the whole side of the caves and alcoves where a river had once torn away at the sides of it. The only scent that Axel could clearly pick up here was Xehanort's. Clearly this was his place of dwelling. Suddenly though, Xehanort had stopped and nudged Axel away from the group towards a cave on the side of the rocks.

"Your Blood Sister is waiting here," Xehanort said. "Go on. Her blood will be a fitting match for such a brave little cub."

"I'll be sure to take good care of him," came a voice behind him that made Axel freeze.

Saix gasped as Axel crouched in surprise and looked up, seeing Xira standing over him in the shadows of the cave. Xehanort nudged Saix with his nose, but the cub looked like he wanted to stay. Axel gave his friend a clear glare that told him to go. They both knew they'd probably be killed if they refused now. It was far safer to play along, even with someone like Xira hanging around. Slowly his friend left him behind as Xira picked him up and carried him into the cave.

She dropped him rather unceremoniously on a rock in the center of the cave, and he scrambled to get back onto his feet. She quickly placed a large paw on his chest though to keep him on his back, though he was rather surprised at how gentle she was with him. Wasn't she supposed to be a cub killer? He found his eyes drawn to a claw mark on her chest, a scar that was clearly visible to him. She smiled when she saw him looking and motioned to it with her free paw.

"This?" she asked. "That's what's going to happen to you. That's how we give young ones like you your powers." She laughed then. "You have good eyes kid. If Xemnas wouldn't have taken you, I probably would have. What's your name?"

"A-Axel," he replied, remembering to use his correct name. She nodded.

"Not bad," she said. Guess we'd better get started then."

"W-Wait," Axel cried. She laughed.

"What?" she asked. "Scared? Don't worry, I'll be gentle."

"But I heard you were a cub killer," Axel explained.

Xira paused and looked up at Axel, seeming to watch him for a long moment as if sizing him up. Axel wasn't so sure it was a good idea to bring that up now, seeing how her claws came out and she snarled. She didn't seem to be looking at him though, rather right through him. He shrank a little under her gaze, seeming to make her realize he was there again.

"And who told you that?" she asked bitterly. "Zexion? Vexen? Lexeaus? Or was it Xemnas? They always love spreading that rumor, though everybody does. No Axel, I'm not a cub killer, but the title gets others to leave me alone. That means you tell anyone, I will make you regret it."

"I-I promise," he gasped. "But if you're not then..."

"He was my little brother," Xira suddenly began explaining, her eyes glazed as if she could see through the wall she was staring at into the past. "I was always taking such good care of him. But when we ended up here, I couldn't just let him become one of these monsters. He begged me to do it, so I killed him. I would not let him become one of them. You know, Axel, you look a lot like him."

Axel become suddenly aware that's why she had seemed so interested in him last night, and why Xemnas had been so quick to push her back. Everyone thought she'd killed her brother, the other little cub, but really she'd been asked and decided to oblige and save him from the fate that she would be facing. He looked away then. He guessed he could understand why she would do that. Everyone here just seemed so broken. Xira shook her head suddenly.

"No one knows that," she growled. "Got it kid?"

"Yeah," he replied. She huffed.

"Hold still."

Her paw was removed from his chest as he continued to look away. But with a quick swipe she cut a large gash in his chest, making him gasp. Before he knew how to react to the situation, she'd bitten her own paw hard to get the blood flowing, snarling a little as she did so. She then placed it back over his chest, letting the blood drip down into the wound on his chest. At first, he felt no different, but then he gasped as he felt waves of pain radiating from the place where he blood was beginning to mingle with his own.

He tried to leap up and away, but Xira quickly caught him and held him into place. Apparently this wasn't that different from what usually happened, so she had been prepared to see him react like this. He soon felt nothing but pain exploding through his entire being, and he couldn't tell if he was screaming or not. He wanted it to stop, struggled to escape, but was unable to do much more than that. Finally after a long while, Xira put her paw down.

She retreated to clean the wound, letting Axel lay there for a long while, gasping for breath. After a long time, he finally seemed to be able to catch his breath and breathe again, though he couldn't really move yet. Slowly he realized that the pain was easing and he was able to stand again on shaky paws. Nearly as soon as he had Xira picked him up and carried him to the back of the cave, dropping him there and just watching him for a long time.

"Well now," she said, watching him recover bit by bit. "You're the first Blood Sibling I've ever had, meaning your powers will probably be like mine. Honestly, with that title of mine, I'm surprised that Xehanort even let me volunteer for this. I'm kind of surprised you're recovering so fast. You must be stronger than you look. The small ones usually are."

Axel didn't have the ability to respond, but even so Xira didn't exactly seem to mind either. She seemed to be watching for a long more minute as slowly he managed to figure out how to walk again and raise his head to look at her. He could see the cogs turning in her head, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to figure out what that was.

"All right then," she said, obviously having decided. "Usually I'd leave this kind of job to your teacher, but I want to test you. Got it kid?"

Before Axel could ask what she meant, she leaped back and opened her jaws. He yelped and scrambled out of the way as she suddenly breathed fire over him. He felt his back being scorched and quickly retreated where it was much cooler in the cave. He bristled and snarled at her, feeling his body still growing hotter as he did so. His paws were very warm, but he just felt angry.

He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know what she wanted, or why if she had loved her brother she was attacking him in the fist place. He did know however that she had been the one to hurt him. He was just angry, angry at Xehanort for making him like this, angry at Xira for attacking him and following him, angry at all the other lions for being so broken they didn't understand. For the first time in his young life, Axel was tired of following the rules.

"Don't just stand there," she barked. "If you're mad, show me how mad!"

She opened her mouth and breathed yet more fire at him. He leaped out of the way again, snarling and rushing her. This seemed to surprise her, letting him manage to cut a gasp across her right front leg. She snarled and hit him with her muzzle, causing him to go tumbling backwards. By the time he'd looked up she was already breathing fire at him again. This time it hit him square in the chest, making him yelp and go tumbling back. She laughed.

"You're my Blood Brother," she said. "You have some immunity to fire because of that. Don't just sit there! In a real battle your enemy would have already killed you twice by now! Get up and attack me!"

Axel got the feeling that if he wasn't at least somewhat immune to fire he would have been a howling ball of flames right now. Even so, it had definitely hurt. He was more angry than before, and he just knew that now he wanted to hurt her back. He felt his body heating up more than before, and he rushed her again.

She leaped to the side, obviously having learned from her last lesson when he'd rushed him. Axel didn't really have any experience fighting, unlike the much older cub in front of him, but she seemed to not be taking him lightly either. As she lept to the side though and Axel snarled, a wall of fire raised behind her. She yelped and leaped away from it, right towards Axel's waiting claws.

Though they were very small claws, they were still sharp and he knew it. As he raised his paw to strike though, he saw that red hot flames were shooting from his paws. As he hit Xira's nose, causing a large gash and burn to appear, she leaped back yet again, yowling and rubbing her nose and eyes in pain to try and clear the vision. Axel looked around the room.

There were walls of flames rising everywhere in his sight, and though the fire on his front paws were beginning to die down, he felt fear instead of anger. Had he done that? Heck, Axel'd never even hurt Saix in a play fight before. But now he'd hurt Xira...and all of those flames! He quickly backed up into the corner, breathing heavily and looking around with wide eyes. He knew why Milo was so scared of Nobodies now. What was he?

"Axel," he heard a familiar voice call fearfully.

Axel jumped and looked up as he saw Zexion leap into the cave and gasp, looking around with wide eyes. He didn't seem to see the cub in the whirling mass of flames, but he definitely saw Xira. He snarled and whirled to face her, bristling as he saw that she was still standing there and rubbing her nose. She looked up and snarled back.

"Where is he?" Zexion demanded. "What did you do?" She laughed.

"Just tested him a bit," she replied. "He is my Blood Brother you know. He's the one who did all of this." Xira and Zexion looked around the room, Xira in what appeared to be excitement and Zexion in worry. "What an amazing power. Such mastery over fire!"

"Where is he?" Zexion snarled again.

Xira pointed towards the cub through the flames, who'd buried his nose under his paws when he'd seen them looking towards them. Zexion didn't hesitate to leap towards the cub, ignoring the flames and crouching as he looked towards him. He couldn't reach him through the fire, but he was relieved to see that he was mostly okay. Xira turned and left the two in the cave silently.

"Axel," Zexion called quietly. "Axel it's okay. She's gone now. You don't have to be scared."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Axel cried. "I don't want these powers."

"I know," Zexion said with a purr, gently and calmly. "I know you don't. None of us do. But you don't have to worry. We'll teach you how to control it, and we'll be here for you, okay?"

Axel could never express the gratitude he felt when he heard those words from Zexion. He couldn't promise it would be okay, and he couldn't promise that he wouldn't have to hurt anyone. But he could promise that they'd be there to help him. Slowly the cub moved his paws and raised his head, looking up at the purring gray cub. When he calmed the fires died out, and Zexion instantly leaped over and picked the cub up gently in his jaws, still purring to him.

Carefully Zexion turned and made his way outside, then back towards their caves above. Axel didn't fight them, just feeling a lot more tired and confused than he'd even felt yesterday. Lexeaus met Zexion at the entrance to the main part of the compound, purring and rubbing his big head against the little cub in the small lion's jaws. Axel didn't purr back, but didn't push him away as he rubbed against him. He couldn't help but calm down a bit, reminding himself again that these lions were going to stay by him, whatever happened now.

The two larger lions made their way up to the main caves, not pausing to talk to anyone and even snarling several curious onlookers back. As soon as they reached the caves, it was evident that everyone else was here now. Saix ran out first, followed soon by Vexen, Xaldin, Xigbar and Xemnas. They all looked very unhappy to have obviously heard from Saix that Xira had become Axel's Blood Sister. They let Zexion carry Axel into the cave, where he gently sat him down. Saix quickly ran over and pressed his side against Axel's purring to him.

"Is he okay?" Xemnas asked worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Zexion replied quietly. "He's just a little shaken up."

"We saw Xira had a pretty good wound on her nose," Xigbar said. "A cut and a burn. Know who did that?"

"Axel."

There was a shocked silence as all of the older lions turned to look at Axel, who had turned his back to them and had curled up to stare at the back wall. He was still shaking, prompting Saix to purr more and lay his head over his friend's as if to hide him from view. The older lions all turned to stare at Zexion, as if expecting him to say it was some kind of joke. His face was completely serious though as he watched the cub worriedly.

"What happened?" Xemnas demanded in a dangerous tone.

"She apparently wanted to test him," Zexion replied. "So she obviously attacked him to try and get him to use his powers against her. Evidently he did, though I've never seen any lion with control over fire like that."

"That's why he's like that," Vexen said pityingly. "Poor thing's too scared to understand what just happened. We're lucky you managed to grab him and bring him back."

"That's not Xira's job," Xemnas snapped, obviously not happy to have the notorious cub killer targeting one of his young students.

"Easy," Xaldin said gently. "I'm pretty sure she's learned her lesson, if that wound's anything to look at. You can always take care of her later. But right now, he needs you."

Axel didn't look up as silence fell behind him at this. Slowly though, Xemnas stepped forward and walked over in front of Axel's nose. He didn't try to get him to look up or move, but laid down in front of him. He nudged Saix out of the way with his nose, and the cub obligingly leaped off of his friend. With one large paw Xemnas rolled Axel over onto his back and scooted him over into his chest, then began to gently clean the wound with his large tongue.

Axel was too surprised and confused to pull away. Obviously from the way that the other lions acted around him, he was well known and respected, and around here that meant he was a good fighter and probably wasn't afraid to kill. Yet now he was as gentle with the tiny cub as a new mother would be with her knew born cubs. The older lion began to purr quietly to him, and Axel just blinked up at him. Slowly the others, including Saix, left the cave and the two behind in it.

When he had finished caring for the wound, Xemnas let Axel roll back over onto his stomach, but he kept him against his chest and continued to purr to him. Axel, mentally and physically exhausted, laid his head down on the much larger cub's paw and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep to the familiar sound of Xemnas's purr. He was obviously trusting of the older lion and knew that he'd be safe there under his care, and he let himself relax.

Xemnas couldn't help but smile a little when he saw that and cradled the tiny cub closer to his chest a moment. When was the last time he'd cared for something like he did these two cubs?

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 **And there's the end of chapter three. There's how Axel got his powers in this fan fiction, and basically a taste of what he can actually do with his fire. Next we'll learn about Saix's powers, and also maybe one or two other chapters before we'll have a time skip and we'll meet some other characters that will be interesting for the story to progress. There will be some time skips through this story as they grow, but I hope you're enjoying so far.**


	4. Eclipse

**Here we go with chapter four. In this one we'll get to see what Saix's powers are, and also we'll get to see some of the strange behavior that some of the characters are going to show in the story that lets them basically be who they are. Again, they'll probably end up being pretty OOC, but I'm having fun writing this story, so I hope you're enjoying too.**

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 **Xira won't really be making any major appearances for a while, though she will definitely be involved in the story of this fan fiction. It won't just be focused on here and what happens in Xehanort's pride because obviously they won't always be in his pride. But the wars that will begin to happen after that will be interesting to say the least.**

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 **I also changed some of their titles because they don't use weapons and also don't have some of the same abilites that they used. Their powers have also been slightly altered to allow the lions to still seem somewhat like lions.**

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Chapter Four: Eclipse

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Axel awoke, still within the comforting embrace of the large silver lion, who had apparently refused to move until he had awoken. Axel opened his eyes and looked around the room before raising his head. Everyone but Saix had left, and Saix was sitting at the cave entrance. He raised his head and looked up at Xemnas, who smiled and purred to him, rubbing his head against her.

"Feeling better?" he asked gently.

"Y-Yeah," Axel replied.

"Lea," Saix greeted with a smile. "I mean Axel. I'm glad to see you awake."

The tiny cub rushed over and practically slammed his head into his friend's, purring comforting as he did. Axel managed a smile back. He probably wasn't going to get used to the idea of having powers, or the fact that he could apparently control fire at will, though he didn't have any idea how that worked. Even so, he was glad that he wouldn't have to face it alone.

Xemnas carefully nudged the cub so that he jumped out of the way and then stood, looking down at the two small cubs under him. The both smiled at him, even Axel. It was amazing how trusting two children could be, even in a world as broken as the one they lived in.

He quickly nudged the two over to the small amount of meat that the others had managed to bring to them, making sure that they ate. Axel wasn't entirely sure if Xemnas had eaten or not, but he didn't touch any of the meat and made the two cubs eat all that there was there. When they were finished the two quickly cleaned their fur as they watched him from the edge of their vision. It was only then that he stood and motioned to he door with his front paw.

"Come on," he said. "We've still got to figure out what Saix's power is, and you two need to start your training."

Xemnas turned and began to make his way out of the cave, the two tiny cubs practically running to keep up with him. As they began to make their way down, he turned to another path that they hadn't been down before, one that led to the ground level of the canyon, but to a part that they'd never seen before. As they began to draw closer to the ground level they quickly noticed young cubs around their age that were being trained by their teachers, and others getting closer to the age that Xemnas already was now.

Well, they called it training, but for the most part it just looked like the older lions were nearly killing the cubs over and over again. No doubt they were already drilling it into the young one's heads that here it was kill or be killed. That was something Saix and Axel had understood right away, but some of these young cubs already didn't. You could tell it in the difference in the way they walked, a far more careful approach. Some of the young cubs were still too trusting.

As Xemnas stepped out into the training yards however all motion stopped. Every eye looked up at him as he made his way through them with his two young students in tow. Axel and Saix can't figure out if they were looking at them with interest or pity, but if they saw Xemnas' fierce eyes look towards them they'd quickly look away or duck their heads to him.

Xemnas led the two cubs through the training grounds and to a private area out in the back. It was secluded and obviously not a place where people usually went. Xemnas motioned for the two to jump up on the rock in the center, a small platform. The two quickly did as they had been told, turning to face him. He was watching them closely for a long moment.

"This will be interesting," he admitted. "Usually we only have one student, and we only have to focus on one kind of training. However with two obviously, there will be many differences. For one, Axel already has his powers while Saix does not. Then there's the fact that both of your powers will not only be different but probably nothing like one another. Axel's Blood Sister is Xira, meaning that fire will be his ability. Saix, who is your Blood Sibilng?"

"Well," Saix said quietly. "he was a big male lion, almost your size. I think he said his name was Nixul."

"Hm," Xemnas said thoughtfully. "Nixul's power is the darkness of night, so it's safe to assume that yours will also have to do with night. That could mean a lot of things, but we won't for sure until we figure that out."

The large silver lion stood and made his way over to the two, looking down at them and carefully sitting in front of them silently. The two cubs just looked up at the older one, waiting for their training to start, whatever that would really be. The older lion seemed to sigh as he tried to think of a way again, but finally turned to face them again.

"Each power is different," he said. "and it reflects something inside of us. The night is calm and silent, waiting for the perfect moment to strike from the darkness. Fire is brash and in your face, hard to control but deadly when used correctly. Both of these powers will be harnessed a different way and used by both of you differently. But your powers will not decide your jobs for you."

"Our jobs?" Axel managed to ask.

"Yes jobs," Xemnas replied. "Within this pride, each lion will have a separate job that will shape the kind of work they do on a daily basis. Though we're all foot soldiers in the army, some of us will take on different duties than others. Some are guards, who keep the borders, other informants to keep tabs on those within the pride, or intelligence who will go into the field and gather information. There are many jobs, some even including assassins, who will kill whoever they're told to. Those kind of lions aren't usually even trusted by their pwn squads. But even though I train you, neither of you could have the same job that I do."

"What kind of jobs are in our squad?" Saix asked. "And what happens when we get assigned a job?"

"Most of us are guards," Xemnas explained. "Xigbar, Xaldin, Lexeaus and I are all guards. Zexion is an informant, and Vexen is an intelligence. We couldn't try to say what you two would be even if we tried. Xehanort examines each cub himself and decides their jobs once their basic training is complete. Then they're taken in by another teacher, who then teaches them the ropes of that job. We won't know what that job is until after your first mission."

"So you won't be our only teacher?" Axel asked.

"No," Xemnas replied. "And I won't know who your other teacher is until they decide you've passed your final test. It's rare that you'd end up having me as your teacher during your second training phase. You won't have to worry about that for a while though."

The two cubs turned to look at one another, their ears falling a little at the thought. They weren't sure they wanted to have other jobs, especially when it meant that they'd have to deal with other lions. The ones in their squad were the only nice lions they'd met here, and they weren't entirely sure they wanted to figure out what that meant for them. Xemnas gave them a comforting smile though, and they managed to look up at him again.

"For now though," he said. "We need to learn to control your powers. Axel will get to try to put it in practice, but Saix will have to wait for now. Still, you can listen and try to understand as much as you can. Axel, come here."

Slowly, Axel leaped down from the rock and walked over to join the older lion. Xemnas stood and looked down at the small cub. Though his face was rather impassive, his eyes still held the same warmth that they were beginning to associate with him. The cub managed a small smile as he looked up at the larger lion, who raised his paw.

His claws appeared, and the front paws suddenly were surrounded by a dark red light. With one swipe he cut a large gasp through the rock to his side, his claws now given the power to slash through the rock. Axel blinked in surprise at this.

"Nothingness," he said. "that is my power, the ability to reduce anything I touch to nothing, though living matter is much more difficult." As he said it, the rock seemed to disintegrate and vanish before their eyes. "Within our squad, each of us has a title, given to us by our teachers. I am simply known as the Superior. Xaldin is the Whirlwind, Lexaeus the Silent Hero. Zexion is the Cloaked Schemer and Vexen the Chilly Academic. Axel, when I learn more of your power I will give you a title as well, a title that the squad and others will call you, though others will be given by your peers as well."

"What do I do?" Axel asked nervously.

"Feel your power," Xemnas explained as his paws returned to normal and he sat the one he'd raised again on the ground. "When Xira was testing you, you summoned your power without realizing it. That was your body's natural reaction, to defend yourself from her." He snarled a little at the thought but turned back to the cub. "Every one of us can feel it in our very veins, the blood that has infected us with these powers, that takes shape in us and must be awakened within us. Tell me Axel, what did you feel when your powers activated."

"Just," Axel replied, thinking back. "Warmth, like I was getting too hot, especially in my paws. At first I thought it was because she had just breathed fire at me, but that wasn't it." Xemnas nodded thoughtfully.

"Using your power is as easy as lifting your paw," he explained. "It's part of who you are, and the powers will respond to your command. To summon your powers, you must feel it. Remember what it was like to feel that fire, warm but not painful. Then when you do that, you'll begin to understand how to control it. Try it now Axel."

Axel looked down at his front paws, feeling Xemnas and Saix both watching him. Did he want to try that again? Last time he'd done some things he'd never wanted to do. At the same time, he knew that he couldn't be afraid to use his powers, or he'd get killed because they thought him weak. He'd already come way too far to just give up now. He wasn't sure what he was fighting for, but he couldn't let himself just give up and die. He owed it to his squad, and to his best friend. No matter what trouble he got into, if they could still smile then he'd be fine if he saw that.

He closed his eyes, trying to remember what it felt like to feel that warmth. It wasn't painful, more like he could feel the fire, like it was welcoming him. He didn't have any idea how it worked, or if it would burn more hotly because of anything else he could do or think. He imagined he could feel the same warmth, spreading from the scar now on his chest, down to his paws. Before he'd even realized it, he could smell smoke rising.

"Very good Axel," Xemnas praised, but with a new note entering his voice.

Axel looked up to see that not only were his paws burning, but that several other fires had sprang to life around them, cutting off areas of the small training grounds. Axel felt his ears fell as he looked around at them. What was he supposed to do with this kind of power? What did it mean? And how was he supposed to control the fires that were beyond his reach? When he grew nervous the fires began to spread.

"Easy," Xemnas said, calming the cub a little. "Think of the flames as an extension of yourself. In the same way you would raise and lower your paw, imagine the flames lifting and lowering at your command. Do this, and you'll be able to learn how to use other powers all your own. Go on. You can do it."

Axel looked up at some of the fires around him, imagining them moving up and down. Nothing happened at first, so he concentrated on the warmth that he felt. If that was the fire, then couldn't he raise it lower it since it was connected to his body?

As he imagined the warmth moving, the fires began to rise and lower at his direction, and even move to other areas when he tried to move it. The more he played with the fire though, he more he realized that his life could never be the same. Saix continued to watch closely but silently.

"Very good," Xemnas said with a rare smile. "You're getting the hang of it. However, there is only so much practice you can get like this. Attack me Axel."

Axel looked up with wide eyes at this command, surprised as the older lion tensed and eyed the younger one. He was obviously not going to take no for an answer, and wanted the cub to attack him. Axel slowly tensed as well, watching Xemnas. He knew that even this lion followed the rules of this place, and weakness would not be allowed.

"Attack me," Xemnas snarled, leaping at the cub.

He surprised the small cub, and though he wasn't using his own powers he was much larger than the tiny cub he'd just attacked. He hit Axel hard, making the cub fall to the ground with a groan. He wasn't even using his claws, but he snarled at Saix who looked conflicted as he watched the two. Slowly Axel stood and glared at the older cub, his tail twitching.

Axel snarled and leaped at Xemnas, baring his tiny claws and the fire that seemed to surge after him as he did so. He claws right towards the larger lion's face, who leaped out of his way and snarled at him as the cub went tumbling to the ground. Xemnas waited until the cub regained his feet again and turned back to face him. Axel quickly sent the walls of flames shooting towards Xemnas, a weak but growing attack.

Xemnas leaped out of the way of this too with no problem and leaped onto Axel again, quickly pinning him to the ground. The older lion watched Axel struggle a moment, but when the cub finally sighed and let the fires die, the older cub had no hint of malice on his face, simply watching the young cub that was under him. With a small smile he stepped off.

"Not bad," he said. "you show promise Axel. And its quite an interesting power you have. I have an idea what your title will be, but I'll have to see more to be sure. Get up. Do it again."

As Xemnas ordered this, he moved and let the cub up again. Axel sighed and stood, already feeling sore but knowing that Xemnas wasn't going to let him quit until he was satisfied with what they'd done for today, whatever that was going to end up being. Saix seemed to relax a little as well when he realized that Xemnas wasn't going to hurt Axel, at least not too bad.

They continued the routine for hours, until eventually Axel was so tired that he couldn't even hardly move. Xemnas chuckled as the flames disappeared and he watched the tiny cub collapse. Axel looked up, surprised to notice that the sun had already set and it was dark now. With the orange and red flickering light of the flames he hadn't even noticed that he'd missed watching the sunset today. Xemnas nudged the little cub gently.

"Come on," he said. "That's enough for today. You've got a long way to go, but you're doing well, Flurry of Dancing Flames. Let's go Saix."

Once again the large silver lion turned and picked the dark brown cub up and off of his tired paws. Axel did realize however that "Flurry of Dancing Flames" was his new title, one that he probably had to admit fit well. The fact that he used his paws to fight mostly and could control the flames that he created by sheer willpower made it seem like he was dancing as he fought. Xemnas turned and began to walk away down the familiar paths and into the training grounds.

They were now empty, as most of the men who had been training the younger cubs had already left for the night, not daring to push them too far. There were no longer any signs of the lions who had been training here earlier. Or maybe they had wanted to get out of here and not have to deal with Xemnas and his students passing by again.

Axel couldn't help but wonder what Saix thought of all of this. They had been best friends before, but already he could sense that their paths here were slowly tearing them away from one another. He glanced behind Xemnas, trying to catch sight of the small gray cub, but he couldn't see him anywhere. He got a bad feeling about it.

"Where's Saix?" he asked.

Xemnas froze in his tracks and whirled around instantly, looking for the cub behind him. When he didn't see him he snarled and ran back the direction they had come, dropping Axel near the entrance of the secluded spot they'd been in earlier. He nosed the cub back into the cracks of the rocks, giving him a clear look that said he wanted him to stay where he was. Then he roared and leaped around the edge of the rock out of Axel's sight.

"Nixul," Xemnas snarled. "Get away from here!"

"Xemnas," a dark voice greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Leave my student alone," Xemnas replied, clearly angry with him. "Touch him again and I will not hesitate to kill you."

There was a long moment of silence where Nixul appeared to be considering whether or not he wanted to obey the larger lion or take his chances with whatever he had been trying to do to Saix. Apparently killing each other's students was something considered normal around here, at least as long as you weren't caught doing it. Axel didn't think Xehanort would take kindly to allowing lions to kill his newest soldiers, at least not the promising ones.

Nixul had obviously pushed Xemnas too far though as he heard the large male roar and leap onto the other. Soon the sounds of the larger males fighting could be heard, as well as sounds he couldn't quite make out as he listened. Nixul was clearly no match for Xemnas though as he came leaping into view with quite a few open wounds on his sides.

Nixul was a large lion, but shorter and thinner than Xemans was. He was a large dark brown cat with a tan underbelly and dark brown mane beginning to grow in. His eyes were an unnerving shade of black, and scars covered his whole body. As he came outside though, Axel felt himself grow worried as he could hear Xemnas was clearly in pain and angry at something Nixul had done. To make matters worse though, the large male soon spotted him.

Axel backed up as far as he could in alarm as the large male chuckled and stepped forward, shoving his nose into the cub's face and looking at him carefully. Axel could hear Xemnas worriedly talking Saix, but he was far too worried with the huge lion looking at him. Those were not kind eyes. Even Xira's eyes had been far more kind than this lion's eyes. Axel hissed and summoned his flames again right in Nixul's face.

They weren't that hot since he was so tired, and he wouldn't be able to hold them for long, but he created a barrier between himself and Nixul, who leaped back with a yowl in surprise and rubbing his burned nose. He looked up with a snarl, beginning to make his way over towards Axel again, snarling with his nose down. The hiss and Nixul's yowl had alerted Saix and Xemnas to the fact that Nixul hadn't left and had tried to go for Axel instead.

Both came around the corner quickly, snarling as they did so at Nixul. Xemnas immediately attacked Nixul with his own power, his claws glowing red again as he slammed into Nixul again. Saix quickly ran towards his friend, who lowered his barrier again to let him through. Saix looked like he'd been cut up a bit, but he otherwise seemed fine. It amused Axel a little bit though that he was the one hurt and was worrying about him much more than himself.

"Are you okay?" Saix demanded.

"I'm fine," Axel replied. "You're the one hurt."

"It's just a scratch," Saix said with eyes that were far too serious to belong to such a small cub.

"Sure," Axel laughed quietly. "Whatever you say."

Their conversation quickly came to a close though as the angered Nixul came charging towards the two of them though. Saix leaped in front of his friend, bristling a little. Axel knew it was crazy, seeing how Axel couldn't even fight Nixul and he actually had his powers. But just then a cloud that had been blocking the moon moved suddenly. Saix's usual calm demeanor changed in an instant. His eyes were glowing the same silver color as the moon, as were his claws.

He fearlessly leaped onto Nixul, who leaped back in surprise, yowling as the tiny cub tore into him. He tried to throw him off, but Saix wouldn't be deterred. As the older lion backed away though and Xemnas leaped back on him, Saix hissed and let go, running back towards Axel and hissing at the much larger lion. There was no fear in him, but Axel still wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to try and touch him now or let him calm down. What had that been?

Xemnas soon had run off Nixul, who had appeared to have learned his lesson about the three at least for now. As he disappeared Xemnas appeared to stand on guard for a long while, seeming to watch for any signs of the stubborn lion returning. Since he saw nothing he turned to look at the two, quickly noticing Saix's strange change. As the clouds covered the moon again his eyes returned to normal and he seemed to blink and look around.

"A berserker?" Xemnas asked.

"A what?" Saix asked worriedly.

"It means that when certain conditions are met," Xemnas explained gently. "You'll enter a state of heightened strength and abilities. It seems this is triggered under the moon, though you can no doubt summon this power whenever you want. You will enter a berserk mode when the moon is up though, which is a highly interesting power. Very well, I know what I'll call you then. Your title is the Luna Diviner."

"Xemnas," a familiar voice cried.

Xemnas and the two tiny cubs looked up to see Vexen and Zexion running towards them. They seemed to pop up a lot around here, and Axel could only wonder why that was really. The two quickly ran over to the two cubs, noticing how tired Axel was, and that Saix was injured. As they drew closer however they leaped back in surprise when the moon appeared again and Saix snarled at them almost instinctively, his eyes glowing silver again.

"What?" Vexen gasped. "What is this?"

"Saix's power," Xemnas replied. "He has a berserk mode. I've found his title too. He's the Luna Diviner."

"And Axel?" Zexion asked, carefully watching Saix from the corner of his eye.

"The Flurry of Dancing Flames," Xemnas replied.

The two nodded but seemed unsure what to make of the two cubs. Xemnas stepped fearlessly over and picked up Saix, making the cub snarl. He seemed to still be able to understand that the older lion meant him no harm though, and let him carry him. Vexen quickly ran over and picked up Axel as well, following after Xemnas. Axel noticed Zexion pause just a moment, obviously watching the group, before he turned and ran to catch up with Vexen.

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 **There's the end of that chapter. Next chapter will have a time skip to where Axel and Saix are older and will be getting their jobs within the group. Axel isn't really going to be happy with it, but he's going to have to live with it, and his new teacher, until he gets some students of his own, which should be fun.**

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 **Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. It's a lot of fun to write, and I can't wait to write more for it. I've got quite a few plans for this story, and I know the direction that I want it to take as well.**


	5. Dancing Assassin

**Here we go with chapter five. In this one we'll be learning what Saix and Axel's jobs are (though really Axel will have only just guessed what it was because they're not supposed to know or tell anyone else). Anyway, we'll get to see more of Axel in action, and he'll begin to take on the personality of the Axel we know and love from the games.**

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 **This chapter has actually made Xira into a much bigger role than I originally planned, but it's pretty important. It's also important that you notice that there's been a few years time skip. They're getting much bigger, and they'll all soon be fully grown lions with strange powers. That's where the Nobodies start to impact the story more.**

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Chapter Five: Dancing Assassin

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It had been about four years since then, and the two best friends from Milo's pride had grown much larger than before. Though both had been rather small for their age, both were now quickly growing much larger than others in their squad. They already both dwarfed Vexen and Zexion. Though they'd never be as broad as Lexaeus or Xemnas, they were definitely going to be as tall when they were fully grown, and would soon become tall lions. They would be powerful and not too thin, rather impressive males, and they were certainly very handsome.

Saix's mane had grown longer, and the blue was spiked in the back while running towards the back of his head already. It wasn't quite a full mane yet, but it was certainly getting there, and he also had hair growing on the elbows of his front legs. Axel's mane on the other hand was growing more spiky as time went on, the spikes laying mostly flat against the body of his mane, while two sprigs on the right side like to stick out away from his face.

Saix purred to Axel and rubbed against him as he turned to follow Xehanort. It was the most comfort he could give him on such short notice. Axel managed to smile back, but he couldn't help but be worried as well. Saix was obviously going to be a guard like Xemnas, considering that was just the skill set he had where he had been trained. His berserk mode could lend to that as well. As Saix disappeared from sight, Axel's smile turned to a frown.

Axel didn't know what kind of job he could have. He wasn't an informant like Zexion, considering he was far too good at fight. He also wasn't an Intelligence like Vexen considering he was again, too good at fighting. His fighting style wasn't suited for being a guard either though. He was far too aggressive for that kind of work, aggressive though they had to be. His flames were powerful, and he was able to control them with an eerie precision. Axel knew the others were scared what he was going to be as well, but though he'd find out today, they wouldn't know for another year.

Axel waited impatiently, ignoring the impulse to start pacing back and forth as he waited. He'd grown accustomed to life around here, to the constant fighting, and like his flames he wasn't one to sit still for very long. Even so, he knew that there wasn't much else that he could now, not until Xehanort returned to get him. He was the last of the cubs their age to go see him as well, which only increased his anxiety. Fewer and fewer of them were surviving. Xehanort had increased the difficulty of the training, weeding out the weak. He was getting ready to make his move.

He wasn't ready for it though when he heard Xehanort call his name. He looked up quickly, looking rather a lot like a frightened rabbit. Axel slowly followed him through the path and into the same area where he had become Xira's Blood Brother, where usually only Xehanort ventured. They went far back into the back, into a large cave where there was silence. He could see no other lions here, and Xehanort motioned for him to jump up onto the rock.

He did as he was told, jumping onto a rock above Xehanort's head. There he sat at attention, his chest as high as he could make it go, and his gaze locked ahead on the rock wall in front of him. Xehanort paced below him, looking up at him and seeming to size him up. No doubt he was also thinking of his previous performances as well. For a long while he continued to do just that, then he seemed to laugh and stop.

"Very well," Xehanort said in a voice that Axel was beginning to think he hated. "Axel, I have decided. From your past performances, and what I've seen you do, I know the path that will be right for you. Follow it to glory."

"I will sir," Axel replied, feeling he didn't like where he was going.

"You will be an Assassin," Xehanort said with a chuckle. "Xira will be your teacher, and you will start your training tomorrow."

Axel felt his heart drop at the mention of the job "assassin". That's why he didn't match anyone else. Xemnas's squad didn't have an Assassin. What would they think of him now? Axel had seen many assassins within the pride. They were feared by all of the other lions, and no one trusted them. Even other assassins would avoid each other. They were always alone, always cruel, and had a sick and twisted sense of humor. Xira was one of those, and the older she became the more apparent it became that she had no love for anyone other than herself.

Would he have to become like that? There was no question about it. In this pride you conformed or died, and he had come far too far to die. Still, he couldn't bear to think what his squad would think of him now. He'd grown so close to all of them. Now though he couldn't be. He had already told himself that he'd be happy if he could see them smiling, and that meant he had to start easing away from them little by little. He couldn't bear to see them hating him.

"Is something wrong Axel?" Xehanort asked.

"N-No sir," Axel replied.

"Very well," Xehanort said. "Go then and find Xira. She should be in the training yard. Let her know you'll be her new student."

Axel stood slowly and leaped down from the wall to the floor, feeling his legs shaking more than they had even when he had been a cub. He felt like his whole world had been ripped out from underneath his paws, what little world he had. That squad was the closest thing he had to a family anymore, and it felt like he'd just lost them. Axel decided at that moment that he did hate Xehanort, and he'd hate him for the rest of his life, for stealing everything from him.

He silently turned and made his way towards the training yard. It was so late in the day now that no one else would be there most likely, but it was always this way, so there would be no witnesses as to who actually had which teacher, or what all of these cubs were really training to become. He was just glad for now that he could put off telling everyone what he was soon going to become. And training with Xira! They'd surely only hate him more because of that. His mood soured as he made his way to the training grounds in the dark, looking for any sign of Xira.

She found him though. He froze as he heard a purr and whirled around in time to see Xira rubbing against his flank. He resisted the urge to snarl at her. Even if they were Blood Siblings, she was still a fierce assassin who wouldn't hesitate to attack him if she thought he was out of line. He still stepped away from her though as she chuckled at him.

"So," she said. "an Assassin huh? Suppose you'll be training with me then."

"Yes," he said quietly, looking away. "Xehanort sent me to tell you that."

"Don't look so sad," she laughed. "You're an Assassin now kiddo, so don't you go showing you have feelings now. You show weakness and the others will tear you apart. You have to be willing to kill anyone at any time. You were the fool who got attached to your squad in the first place."

Axel wanted to get mad at her, to tell her that he wasn't a fool to have a heart, but he couldn't. He hadn't known that this day was coming, but now that he did, he couldn't deny that he had been a fool. Maybe it would have been better for him to have gotten taken in by Xira instead of Xemnas. She wouldn't have let him get attached, and he wouldn't have to be facing this kind of thing.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Whatever."

"Better," she said. "Well, we don't have time to chit chat. You've got to get back before your squad comes to see how you're doing. But I've got some advice for you. You'd best start distancing yourself from them, because when they find out, they're going to push you away."

With that, Xira turned and left, seeming to melt away into the darkness in front of him before he could even say anything. Axel didn't have the heart to say anything at all. He just felt tired and sad now, more than he could ever remember being. Slowly, as if his feet weighed far too much now, he hauled himself up the familiar paths towards the caves, trying to figure out what he was going to do. He supposed there was nothing else he really could do, but act like nothing was wrong.

As he reached the cave however, he realized that this was going to be even harder than he thought. All of them, including Saix, came out to greet him. Somehow their smiles and laughs of greeting were far more painful than he could ever remember. As they drew closer however they all stopped, obviously sensing that something was troubling him. Xemnas stepped forward, by far the largest lion Axel had ever seen, and with a regal silver mane that seemed to shine.

"Axel?" he asked. "What's wrong."

It hurt to hear him talk to him like that, like he was still the cub that they all remembered. In reality he knew that nothing was ever going to be the same between any of them though. They'd all grown up here, knowing that assassins weren't the kind of people that you wanted to get involved with. No matter how much they knew him, they would hate him the instant that they found out what he was. Axel had always been a good liar though, and looked up with a cocky smile.

"Hm?" he asked. "Nothing. Just got distracted is all. What, don't tell me you're still worried about me, old man. I'm hardly a cub anymore."

They seemed confused by the way he'd just talked to Xemnas, as if they couldn't accept the rather disrespectful way he'd just talked to him when before he'd always been so happy and gentle with all of them. There was something different in his eyes. Xigbar and Xaldin tensed when they saw it, obviously having seen the same kind of eyes before. The others just stepped back in surprise.

"Well," he said. "I'm tired. Mind if I get some rest?"

He didn't wait for anyone to answer, just pushed past all of them and straight into the back of the room. He didn't stop there however, and leaped up into another small cave father up. Everyone usually slept on the bottom of the cave there, obviously enjoying the company of the only family that they had here anymore. Axel however couldn't bring himself to face them again. He couldn't let himself break, no matter how much it hurt.

The others followed him inside quietly, watching him as he turned his back to them and laid down there in the tiny cave above the floor. He heard the others grumbling and make their way out of the cave, no doubt to discuss his change in characteristics. He had to get in the habit though, and said nothing to dissuade them or let them know how lonely and hurt he really felt. He quickly noticed by the smell in the cave though that Saix hadn't left yet.

"Axel," he said. "What's wrong."

"Nothing," he insisted. "this is...this is how its going to be from now on."

"Why do you think it has to be this way?" Saix asked, stepping forward. "Let us help you-"

"No," Axel snapped, sounding much angrier than he meant to make it sound. He quickly lowered his voice, feeling more hurt than before. "There's nothing wrong. Just leave me alone."

Saix didn't move, and he didn't say anything. Axel was sure he'd leave now, probably hurt and wondering what had happened to the lion who'd used to be his good friend. Somehow Axel had always known that they'd eventually be separated like this, that their paths would eventually lead them apart. But he'd never felt more hurt, not even when Milo had betrayed them to this life, not even when he'd found out the life he would be living.

But Saix didn't move. He was stubborn. He refused to believe that there wasn't some help for his friend, that he could help him become what he had once been. Axel allowed himself a small sad smile since Saix couldn't see his face when he realized this. Truly, he could have never asked for a better friend, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they realized that he wasn't the same cub that they remembered. And the better he got it in his own head, the easier it would be for them.

"Didn't you say you wanted everyone to remember you?" Saix asked, trying desperately to get his friend to come back. "What will they remember now?"

Axel's face fell when he heard that. He had told everyone that when he was a cub. He said he'd wanted to live forever in people's memories. Now that he thought about it, and now that he knew what was going to happen in the future, he couldn't help but realize how ridiculous that was. Who would ever remember someone like him, unless it was to remember the horrible deeds he'd end up doing? That's never what he had wanted.

"I was just a kid," he replied bitterly. "Nothing else to it. What's the point of being remembered, if its for all the wrong reasons?"

"What are you talking about Axel?" Saix asked in surprise.

"Just go away," Axel snapped. "I want to be alone." Then he added bitterly and sadly. "Got it memorized?"

That was the phrase he'd taken to using while he was still trying to get everyone to remember him, when everyone in his squad had promised to always remember him, no matter what happened. It was habit to say it by now, and he hated it. At the same time though, he couldn't make himself not say it. He couldn't let himself forget those times, even if everyone else forgot them. Axel felt like he might start crying in frustration now, but mercifully, Saix left him alone.

Axel didn't move that night, but neither did he sleep. Hours later the others all entered the cave and found him where they'd left him. None of them bothered to see if he was still awake, and none of them bothered to try and talk to him. That hurt even more than he could ever say, and as he laid awake that night agonizing over what he knew was coming, he realized that it was the hardest and most painful night he'd ever spent here.

Axel thought about killing himself, just to spare everyone the agony, but he knew he never could. They would agonize then that they hadn't helped him, and they would lie to themselves and tell themselves that they would have accepted him when they all knew they wouldn't. Besides, Axel was too strong to give up now. He'd come too far.

If he could see them smile again, then he'd be happy. He knew he'd be able to smile too then. Even if it meant he had to rip out his own heart to make sure they could smile.

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 **This is the shortest chapter I've written for this story so far, and by far one of the saddest. This story definitely isn't all going to be sad, and of course Axel is the hero of this story, but for the rest of this story to start taking motion, I've got to start putting everything into the right perspective for the story I've got planned.**

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 **Anyway, if you're enjoying the story so far, feel free to leave a review below. I don't run on them, but I do like to read them when they pop up.**


	6. Playing With Fire

**Here we go with chapter six. In this chapter, everyone will find out what Axel's job really is. Of course, they aren't going to act like they have towards him before, but again, its to set other events into motion for later in the story.**

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Chapter Six: Playing with Fire

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Axel could feel Zexion's eyes on him, already full of suspicion no doubt. It was no surprise why though, Zexion's job was to figure out who in the pride were thinking of desertion and other such things, and it was Axel's job to kill them. They were a perfect team, but one that he knew no one had ever wanted to see in their own squad. Assassins were feared by everyone, mostly because if Xehanort said to kill someone completely innocent of any crimes, they'd do it without hesitation, no matter who it was or why the order had been given.

It had been two years, and Axel had grown. He now had a full mane, and he was a tall lion and also not too thin. Even so, he had gotten into the habit of ignoring the others, numbing himself to their pain, and distancing himself from them. He made jokes, he antagonized them, anything to get them to realize that it wasn't going to be the same. The worst part was, they still laughed at his jokes. They still followed him. They still made him laugh, and they still seemed to like to be in his company. They couldn't let him go.

But at the same time, he'd been training. He knew how to disappear in plain sight. He knew how to kill quickly and efficiently. He knew how to be an assassin. Even so, nothing had prepared him for the kind of look that Zexion was no doubt now giving him behind his back.

Zexion! He'd known Axel since he had been a tiny cub. He knew how sweet and caring he really was. After everything though, and after the way Axel had forced himself to become, there was nothing left of that tiny cub now. He'd trained himself to be the perfect assassin. He wouldn't waver, no matter what it took from him. He would protect the only family he had left, even if it meant that he had to hurt them to do it. That kind of look hadn't been unexpected, but it hurt.

He let none of the hurt show on his face though, and just continued to smile darkly as he followed after Xira towards their target. Zexion was following them as well, no doubt to show them where the lioness in question was trying to hide. As they reached the final edge of the cliff Spearhead Point came into view in front of them.

The cliff overhung the only river in this area, where the winter rains would soon swell it full. It was the farther most edge of the pride's territory. If someone could make it across the river they could escape the pride. No one had gotten past the assassins yet, but it didn't stop some of the pride from trying, including the lioness.

She was a small thing, rather pretty too. And she was backed into a corner now. Her eyes went wide as she saw the two assassins and the informant standing there. The path bottle necked behind them though, and the only escape from their claws was a leap straight into the rocky and shallow river. Without the winter rains it could be crossed, and during the winter it became swollen and far too deep and fast to travel by. She had no escape.

"There she is," Xira laughed. "Good boy Zexion, just like you said. You're free to go. Axel, it's time to put your training to use."

Neither male said anything to the female, but Zexion turned and backed away, quickly to disappear from sight. No doubt, he was going back to tell the others what Axel really was now. Saix, as no surprise, had become a guard. Axel's true job however would come as a big shock to all of them. Xira continued to chuckle darkly though as Axel advanced towards the now panicking little female. Her breathing began to grow faster as he drew closer.

"A-Axel please," she begged. "Don't do this. You were always such a good little cub!"

"Sorry," he chuckled, ignoring her pleas. It hurt too much to listen to them. "but that little thing died a long time ago."

Axel leaped at her before she had prepared herself for it, not even letting his tail twitch to give her any indication that he was doing so. She yelped and swatted at him with her paw, electricity sparking from her claws as she sliced into his chest. He continued to smile and showed no fact that he'd felt the pain. The truth was, he'd let her hit him, just to get her guard down.

She seemed to not want to hurt him though, and leaped back, taking this as her chance to run away and escape from him. She was running towards the cliff, obviously hoping to kill herself and have him fail his test so he couldn't become an assassin. He snarled though and quickly raised a barrier of fire, stopping all chances of her getting away from him.

She whirled back around as he began pacing, fire sparking just between his claws. His power over fire had only grown as Xira had been teaching him, allowing him to manipulate it in many different ways. As he drew closer to the lioness, he crouched and sprang at her, slashing at her and throwing fire from his paws as he did so. He wanted to make sure that she didn't escape him. His powers were a bit flashy for an assassin, but the barriers were certainly an advantage. Either way, he was able to kill with no problems by now.

She attacked back, but he expertly dodged, giving her some space and allowing her to attack him again and again, wearing herself out as he just nimbly leaped out of the way. He was a trained killer, and he'd already been on many hunts before this. He'd even killed a few other lions before her, so he was no stranger to the assassin way of life. Because of that, he could tell when she began to falter, too tired to even defend herself anymore.

That's when he leaped in again, sinking his flaming paws into her chest. She screamed and tried to pull away, but he pinned her and wouldn't let go. With a snarl and a roar he summoned his fires again, pushing them out from his body in a shock wave. He didn't make it the most powerful he could, but with her in this weakened state, he didn't have to. Soon she was little more than a flaming and screaming ball of fire.

He went for the throat then, quickly and efficiently killing her like he'd been taught. In reality, he couldn't stand to hear the screams. He'd rather there be silence. At least he'd put them out of their misery when he killed them like that. He stepped away from the corpse, letting the fires die down again. Xira came over to him, purring and rubbing her side along his and chuckling darkly. It was probably the closest she'd ever gotten to being proud of anyone.

"Good job my little brother," she said. "You've passed. Today you're officially one of Xehanort's Assassins."

The sentence made Axel feel more sick than he could ever describe, but when Xira turned to make her way back towards Xehanort's stronghold, he turned and followed as well. Few people knew it, but assassins had the worst job. Not only did they have to kill their peers when told to, they were also always under constant supervision.

If one of them so much as sneezed out of line they would be killed and filed as "missing in action". There was no forgiveness in this kind of job. Even so, Axel was determined to do it well, if it meant he could protect the last people he cared about in the entire world.

Axel paused only once to remove one of the lioness's fangs, then ran to catch up to Xira. It was proof that they'd killed who they had been told to, and proof that they were willing to do whatever it took. He then turned and silently made his way back through the long tunnels that led to the center of Xehanort's domain, where he would be waiting for him and the others to return from their missions.

If any of them had failed though, death would be the only reward, though sometimes there were a few times, like target suicide, when the failure would be pardoned. If a student didn't kill someone simply because they didn't want to though, death would be what waited them. Axel didn't doubt that some of his assassin peers would have failed in this way.

Soon they reached the same cave where Xehanort had decided his fate, and Axel found himself in a room with many older lions, many of whom had many scars, and many younger lions. Some of the students in the room had been held back because of suicides or other circumstances in their missions, and others were about Axel's age and looked extremely nervous. Xehanort sat on the platform above them, looking at them all.

One by one they walked up to the front, dropping the fangs they had collected at his feet. Those whose targets had committed suicide would lay down with their teachers at the ring of the circle. One young male and female were dragged to the front by their teachers and left there. Every eye turned to them, even Axel's, and many of the older assassins were glaring at the two and snarling. The two young assassins cowered under the eyes of their peers. Axel forced down the sick feeling in his chest. He knew what was coming next.

"So many young assassins," Xehanort said as if proudly. "Truly, my army has been blessed. You are the peace keepers within my realm. You will be well rewarded when our nation of Nobodies rules this pathetic land, and when we are given the recognition we deserve, and the revenge for those who have forsaken us! And yet..." his voice grew hard and dangerous. "there are some who cannot take the duties that have been assigned to them."

"Keeping peace?" the female snarled at him. "This isn't peace! It's murder! I won't kill a cub just because he wants to go home!"

"You're mad with power Xehanort," the male added, flinching at the sounds of the angry snarls behind him but wanting to speak his mind. "These cubs are just brainwashed into thinking you're right, or too scared to stand up against you!"

"Ah," Xehanort chuckled darkly. "What foolishness. Truly you only see us as the monsters that those fools who cast my children out do."

"We see you for what you've made them," the female spat in his face. "and what you really are!"

Xehanort didn't seem taken aback by this, and indeed only laughed at their reactions. The two began to tremble, turning and seeing the angry assassins surrounding them. Even those who had failed, and those like Axel who didn't like to kill but wanted to survive, were now standing and snarling, ready to leap forward on command. Axel hated his job, and he hated Xehanort for making him do it. But he couldn't let himself die here.

"I see," he said. "Then maybe I should let my dear children show you exactly what I am. Kill them."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, every assassin and trainee in the room leaped on the two, Axel included. There was no time to hesitate, and no time to think, only act. As he leaped into the pile however, at least intent on dragging the two down so others could kill them, he felt his sides and back getting clawed into as the assassins fought to take the two down. He roared in pain along with the rest who were getting mauled in the same way, but didn't leap out of the fray. Only when Xehanort called them off did he jump off with the rest. The two lay dead in the middle, along with another young male who'd been unfortunate enough to reach the pile first.

"An unfortunate turn of events," Xehanort said as if sadly. "but a necessary sacrifice. His death has ensured peace among us again. To those of you who have passed, I say congratulations again! Now go my children, you must be tired."

Axel said nothing and quickly turned to leave, making his way outside quickly. Xira ran up to catch him quickly as well, following behind him. That was the last thing that he wanted right now, to have to talk to her more. But as she stepped in front of him, he quickly stopped and looked up, meeting her gaze. Now that he was an assassin as well they were on equal footing, so he wasn't scared to show her he didn't appreciate it.

"Axel," she said. "Now that you've completed your training, you can chose which squad you want to join, any squad."

"I know this," he replied.

"You should come join mine," she said. "You are my Blood Brother after all. But more than that, the members of my squad are all Assassins. They won't judge you like Xemnas's squad will."

"Thanks," he said with a chuckle. "but no thanks. I don't care if they do judge me, that's been my home for too long. I've got too many memories there. I can't leave."

"Don't be a fool," she sighed. "They're never going to look at you the same way again."

"Even so," he replied.

Something made him want to return. Maybe he had some small hope that they wouldn't just push him away like he knew was probably going to happen. Maybe he was just scared of change after everything that had happened. Maybe it was the fact that they were the only family he had left. Even if they hated him, he'd go back. Things had definitely changed there. Saix was second in command under Xemnas, and a few other lions had decided to join their squad, lions he'd really never tried to talk to. Maybe they hadn't talked to him because he scared them, or maybe they hadn't talked to him because they'd realize his final test had been coming up.

"Your attachment to them is going to get you killed," Xira huffed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Axel replied.

Without another word he turned and began to walk away, simply following familiar paths back towards the caves that he'd called home for so long. He felt rather nervous. What was he supposed to say to them? How was he supposed to explain. To his surprise though, as he stepped out towards the main area of the compound, he found Zexion waiting for him.

The lion was much smaller looking than he'd remembered when he'd first met him. He had a long mane, the bangs still parted over his right eye and the socks easily making him stand out. To Axel's surprise however, he didn't look angry or scared. He was looking at the various wounds that Axel had on his body with worry.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," Axel replied. Zexion stepped in front of him to keep him from walking past him.

"We're getting Marluxia to check your wounds," he insisted. "Come on, we're going home." Axel raised a brow at him.

"Oh?" he asked. "You still want me there?"

"Of course," Zexion said, looking ready to drag Axel back if he had to. "We're all friends! I already told everyone you're an Assassin, but its not like it matters. We know the real you Axel, and we're not letting you walk away because you think we don't."

Axel couldn't help but admit that he had thought that they wouldn't understand. He'd been rather cold to them, but after his training with Xira, that was kind of how his training had eventually made him. It wasn't really an act any more. But he couldn't have been more touched by the fact that they were still willing to have him back. He couldn't explain how much it meant to them. He chuckled and managed a smile that they were all so used to seeing.

"Yeah yeah," he said. "I was heading back anyway." Zexion smiled back as well.

"Good," he said. "Xemnas was already worrying about you, and Saix too. You know how those two are. Come on, lets go home. You can lean on me if you need to."

"I'd probably break you if I did," Axel chuckled as he began to walk away again towards his old home, sore but in much better spirits. Zexion ran after him.

"I'm not that small," he huffed. Axel chuckled.

"You're pretty small."

The conversation fell rather silent after that as they made their way back to the familiar caves that made up their home. Zexion just seemed happy to have gotten Axel to agree to come back with him, and Axel felt more happy than he'd remembered being in a long time. The emotion really didn't show on his face other than the usual mischievous smile he usually gave everyone, but he'd been trained to not really show that much emotion.

When they reached the caves everything seemed rather quiet. It wasn't lively or boisterous as it usually was, probably because everyone was sitting in their worrying about him. As Axel stepped inside, he noticed Xemnas pacing worriedly. Almost everyone else seemed to be watching him, including some faces that were less familiar to Axel.

Every male in the cave had a full mane now, but some were more noticeable than others. Among the new faces was a male with green eyes, a pale tan coat and white underbelly, and a blonde mane that seemed rather short around the top of his head. That would be Luxord, the Gambler of Fate, a rather strange kid Axel had always thought. His power was time. He was a Spy, who would infiltrate an enemy pride for a while, figure out which cubs to take, and then leave.

Another male had a darker brown coat and white underbelly. His eyes were a light blue-green color and his mane was pink and layered like the petals on a flower. He was a strangely pretty male, and pretty was really the only word Axel could find to call him. This was Marluxia, the Graceful Assassin. Though he bore the title of "assassin", he wasn't actually an assassin. It was his ability to destroy a heart with words that granted him this title, though he could also be kind. He used his mastery over plants to not only fight, but also help heal others who had been injured in battle. He was the one that Zexion had insisted Axel come see for the wounds he'd sustained.

Another male was kind of timid and a lot smaller. He had a blonde coat that matched his blonde mane, which was spiked up like a mullet on top. He had cyan eyes and always seemed to be very jumpy. Like Vexen, he was an intelligence. Though he preferred not to fight, he would often go out and get some of the best information that could be gathered. Maybe his mousey personality made it easy for him, and he used water powers. He was Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne. And as his title suggested, he enjoyed music.

Last of he new faces was the only female lion to live here, but she was not the kind of girl to be taken advantage of even if they'd wanted to do it. She used lightning to attack, and her temper struck just as quick as that lightening. She was a young blonde lioness with a white underbelly and green eyes, though two antenna like strands of hair began behind her brows and arched over the top of her head, making her easily recognizable in a crowd.

This was Larxene, the Savage Nymph. She didn't trust easily, and there were few times she let down her guard. She was a Striker, who went with collectors to get young cubs. While the strikers fought, the collectors would run in and grab the cubs that had been selected by Xehanort and take them here to join the pride. Few lionesses were strikers.

The rest of the faces here were all very familiar faces that he'd grown up with. These new four however hadn't chosen their squads yet after gaining their jobs. They had however done some minor missions with several of the members of the squad, and apparently had liked what they saw. After that they'd decided to join the squad and had been living here ever since. Right now though, the whole squad just looked really worried.

"Aw," Axel chuckled mischievously and kind of sarcastically from the mouth of the cave. "how cute. Everyone's here. There something I miss?"

As soon as Xemnas heard his voice he instantly walked over to him and rubbed his head into Axel's, both in greeting and in as much comfort as he could manage. The rest of the squad was soon on their feet as well and had run over to worriedly greet Axel, rubbing against him and purring as if he was going to just turn around and walk out right now. All of them wanted to reassure him that they wanted him here. They also began instantly to worry over the wounds he'd gotten.

Marluxia was by his side in an instant, shoving Axel with his nose towards the back of the cave, where he enlisted the help of Demyx and Larxene to make sure Axel sat still while he worked on him. Both were a lot smaller than him, and that made it even funnier to Axel when they both pretty much laid on top of him to keep him still. Marluxia on the other hand made several plants grow that he was going to use to heal the wounds he'd gotten.

Demyx just kept saying he was sorry over and over again. He'd always been kind of mousey, though he supposed that wasn't something he could really change about himself. Larxene on the other hand was hissing how much of a burden Axel was being for all of them, though she was also purring. It wasn't really in her nature to be kind. Axel just chuckled in response.

Axel couldn't ever put into words the way that their acceptance had made him feel. He supposed he should have realized they'd refuse to let him just leave like that, that they would make sure he stayed with them. He did know them after all. Even so, he couldn't help but feel happy. He was glad that the only lions he thought of as his family had accepted him anyway.

The others were all sitting at the front of the cave, talking in hushed voices. Of course, with his training, he was easily able to hear what they were saying, but he pretended he couldn't. The group at the mouth of the cave kept glancing towards them, obviously apparently worried greatly about something. Axel just silently listened as he let Marluxia work.

"That's why he started acting strangely in the first place," Xigbar growled.

"Its not an unexpected reaction," Xaldin sighed. "Let's be honest. We all would have probably expected the same end."

"He's still Axel though," Saix said stubbornly. "He's still the lion I've been best friends with since I was a cub."

"Of course he is," Luxord said gently as if to calm him.

"Even so," Zexion said unhappily. "Axel's in a lot more danger than even the rest of us. Assassins are under constant watch, and if they take one step out of line they're destroyed. None of them just go missing on missions. Xehanort kills them."

None of them sounded happy about this, if their growls were anything to go off of. Axel supposed he should have expected Zexion to know that though, considering he was an informant and a very good one. He worked with Assassins all the time, and he'd probably talked to quite a few. Marluxia was finishing his work and stepped back, looking over the wounds again now as the rest of the lions at the cave mouth turned to look at one another again.

"We can't stay here," Xemnas growled quietly. "We've talked about it for a long time but...this time we've got to get away. I refuse to believe the world is like Xehanort said it is. There has to be more to it than this. And we owe it to the younger lions to get away now."

No one said anything more about it. It was treacherous beliefs, but one that was shared by many lions in the pride. Xehanort had tried to discourage this kind of thing with the Assassins and Informants, but many lions were starting to turn towards it. Before, fear of the Assassins, of the Heartless and normal lions who would try and kill them out of fear, all of it had discouraged the idea of leaving. Why would they leave the only safety they had here?

But many of the lions weren't buying the kind of lies that Xehanort was feeding them. They were becoming more and more rebellious, remembering times when they were younger, when they had known nothing but love. It was said that some had managed to escape the Assassins and leave the pride as well, and there was only one place for them to go.

That was to Ansem the Wise. It was said he'd returned, and he'd been taking in young lions left and right who were willing to fight Xehanort and the Heartless, along with all the things he was planning. It was also said he'd never turned anyone away, not even the Nobodies who'd escaped Xehanort and come looking for a place to stay. It was the kind of thing that gave the Nobodies hope, at least those that hadn't already been completely brainwashed by Xehanort. That was unfortunately a very small number in this pride however.

"Hey," Larxene said suddenly, shoving her face into Axel's and making him look up. "Saix said you like to watch the sunset right? If we hurry we can still catch it."

"Oh?" Axel teased her. "Is that kindness I see?"

"In your dreams," she hissed back, but with a slight smile. "Come on."

She leaped up and rushed right past the others sitting at the mouth of the cave, shoving through them and running up the path that led to the rock where Xemnas had taken Saix and Axel on their first day here. The others blinked after her, but couldn't help but smile a little too. Demyx seemed conflicted for a moment, but quickly ran to catch her. Marluxia shook his head but with a smile and motioned for Axel to follow him. Axel stood and did so, going at a much slower pace than Demyx and Larxene had just taken the path.

Within a few minutes they'd reached the top of the rocks, looking out over the now familiar landscape. Axel couldn't help but smile as he watched the sun turn the sky into a living canvas, painting its shades of purple, red and orange across it. Axel had never really figured out why he liked to watch the sunset, only that he did. Maybe it had something to do with the parents he couldn't remember when he was younger. Either way, it was beautiful.

They all laid there, watching the sun sink below the horizon, but though he could see the three of them smiling too as they looked up at it, something made Axel feel uneasy. Something was moving, and something was coming to this land that he'd never given much thought to. But if he was going to protect his friends, he'd have to start paying better attention to it.

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 **And there's the end of chapter six. In the next chapter, the others will finally be making their plans for escape. As it stands however, Axel will have to make some tough choices if he wants to protect those that he cares about. Even with that going on though, he'll start meeting some other characters that'll make the story more interesting and start setting the rest of the plot in motion. And I think you guys will find it funny.**


	7. Choices

**Here we go with chapter seven. This one will have Axel making some tough choices to help save the people that he cares about. Axel's always been an all or nothing kind of guy though. After these sequence of events however he'll meet some pretty interesting characters, and it'll start setting the rest of the story in motion as well.**

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 **Some familiar characters will start popping up as we go through the story, and some characters that you might not have expected will have some interesting roles through the story as well. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I am enjoying writing it.**

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Chapter Seven: Choices

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The winter rains had come hard, soaking into the ground and causing the river below Spearhead Point to grow wide and fast. There would be little chance of crossing the river now, because even Demyx couldn't hope to hold that monster of a river in check for long. Any lions thinking of escape were now cursing their luck that the rains had come so early this year, and knowing that they'd have to wait for it to stop. The water was now cold and harsh.

Two weeks had passed, two unbearable weeks where Axel just got a bad feeling. Too many Assassins were watching all of them going out of missions, too many eyes were on his squad. It made him restless, and the others could quickly notice that. No matter how many times they asked what was wrong though, he could never bring himself to tell them. Xehanort was not pleased with Xemnas, this had always been clear. But Axel was dreading the day when he'd wake up to find that he could no longer stand him. That day was today.

Axel awoke quickly, sensing a presence that usually would not be here. He looked up quickly to figure out what it was. None of the other lions in his squad had woken yet, but it was still early and the sun had yet to rise. At the mouth of the cave he saw Xira's form, watching him for only a moment before turning and walking away.

Axel slowly stood and made his way carefully to the front of the cave as well, his footfalls even lighter than most lions here who had been trained to kill. With the stealth and silence only an Assassin could use he left the cave behind and followed Xira's retreating form down the paths to the center of the compound.

He didn't like this one bit, and he was getting a bad feeling about it. Why had Xira been sent to get him, out of all of the lions here? He knew that it was a summons from Xehanort simply by the way she was walking, the silent tread she was using. She didn't want to be seen, which is why she had gotten him so early. The rest of his squad wouldn't awake for several more minutes until the sun rose. And even they would be able to tell that something today was off.

He followed Xira down a now long familiar path, one that he knew led directly to Xehanort who would not be waiting for him. The old lion would always be waiting at this old cave to give orders to the Assassin he had summoned. As soon as they drew close, Xira turned and disappeared down a side path, leaving Axel alone as he stepped forward into the cave. The old lion was waiting at the back, laying on a raised rock platform that naturally had grown here after who knew how long. Axel walked straight in and laid down in front of him, just watching him as those unnerving orange eyes stared right down at him in the silence.

"Ah," Xehanort purred. "My dear Axel. Do you know why I've called you?"

"I couldn't fathom a guess," Axel tried to joke. It just sounded dry, even to himself. Xehanort laughed at it though as if it was hilarious.

"I have a job for you," the old lion explained as he leaped down and began to circle just around Axel's still form. "And a very important one. You've performed so well for me that I just couldn't think of anyone else better for the job. I need you to kill someone for me, someone who's been thinking of rebelling for far too long. I haven't had the weapon I needed to kill him, but now with you, I've finally gotten the perfect weapon."

Axel felt a lump forming in his throat. He had a bad feeling about this, and he already had an idea who the lion was going to say for him to kill. The problem was, Axel was an Assassin. If he disobeyed Xehanort's orders he'd be destroyed just like all of the rest of those who'd defied Xehanort. Slowly he swallowed, hoping that what he was thinking was wrong. He kept a level face however and just continued to stare straight ahead as Xehanort circled him, looking for weakness.

"And who would that be?" Axel asked.

"Xemnas," Xehanort replied, stopping right in front of Axel's face and hooking a paw under his chin. Axel fought down the shiver he felt in his spine. "He's been a thorn in my side for far too long. Though he was one of the first, he has been inspiring treason for far too long. You know why I chose you, don't you, my child?"

"Because it would hit him on his weak flank," Axel replied.

That was undoubtedly true. Even if Axel refused to kill Xemnas and was killed himself, Xehanort would not keep it a secret from them why he had refused to kill him. Either way, it would hurt Xemnas. Axel knew that even if he attacked him with the full intent to kill, Xemnas would probably just roll over and let him kill him rather than letting him get killed himself. Xehanort knew this as well. It was not only to get rid of Xemnas, but test Axel's resolve. Just thinking of having to try and kill one of the few lions he loved made Axel sick. He didn't let his face falter however.

"Indeed it would," Xehanort said, seeming to praise Axel. "You know what you must do right? Take him out with you, alone, to Spearhead Point. Talk him into trusting you. Then rip his heart out. Do you understand?"

Axel felt his heart hammering in his chest. No one in the squad would question him if he asked Xemnas to follow him to talk to him out on the point. There it would be easy to kill him and then just walk away. The worst part would be, the others would undoubtedly find out, and they'd just be more determined to leave than ever, knowing that Axel had no choice but to kill him. It wouldn't solve anything, only make things even more difficult and dangerous for his squad.

But Axel had never been one to follow rules, and he knew he'd never be able to kill Xemnas. He'd rather die himself than let himself murder one of the few lions who'd ever really shown him any kindness at all. As he looked up at met Xehanort's eyes, the old lion saw determination there. He wrongly interpreted it as being one that meant he was more than willing to kill his old teacher. In reality, Axel was already forming a plan to save the others. If he was going to die in a hell like this, then he was going to make sure that they got out of here at least.

"Yes sir," Axel replied.

"Good boy," Xehanort purred. "Now off you go. Make me proud."

Axel didn't hesitate to stand and turn, running back the way he had came. This was going to be tricky, and if everything went the way he was thinking it would, he would probably end up dying today. Not that he cared much. There wasn't really that much in the life he was already living to hold onto, and if dying meant his friends could escape and lead a better life, then he was perfectly fine with going out. He was certainly going to go out with a bang though.

He ran all the way back to the cave, pausing just outside to catch his breath and make sure that he looked as calm as possible. They were probably being watched already, and Axel had to make it look like they suspected nothing. He did know one solid way to make sure that everyone knew what was going on though, and that was letting Zexion know he was on the hunt. He had worked with Assassins long enough that just a single flick of the tail could alert him to the fact that Axel was supposed to be on the hunt. He'd have to show him who'd been marked.

Axel took a deep breath and stepped into the caves, finding the others stretching and beginning to wake up in the early morning light. Zexion's eyes however were glued directly to Axel as he came in the room. There was no doubt in Axel's mind that the small lion knew why he'd been gone so early in the morning, and he was unsure why he was back so soon. Axel turned his eyes to Xemnas, who'd walked forward though and was looking down at him.

"Xemnas," Axel sighed. "I need to talk to you." Xemnas glanced over his shoulder.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Not here," Axel said quietly, glancing at the others. "Not in front of them."

"Lead the way then," Xemnas replied quietly.

Axel nodded and turned away, beginning to make his way out of the caves. As he stepped out with Xemnas behind him though, he paused just for an instant and met Zexion's gaze by looking at him through the side of his eyes. He then purposely flicked his tail. The instant he had, Zexion's eyes were full of a clear understanding.

He knew exactly what was going on, and that Axel had purposely given him that clue when he met his eyes. He ran over instantly to Saix and leaned his head down, quickly beginning to explain the situation. Axel caught sight of Saix looking up after them before they turned the corner and were out of sight.

Axel continued just in front of Xemnas, leading him silently towards Spearhead Point. Once they reached it, Xemnas followed Axel to the edge, where they both peered down at the river rushing by. How many times had Axel been here? It was a favorite spot for Assassins to finish the job, mostly because it was at the edge of the border, and those trying to escape often found themselves here. Xemnas laid down with a sigh.

"So," he said. "I take it Xehanort wants me dead." Axel just smiled sadly.

"Hm," he said. "Always were quick weren't you? Yes, that's why he told me to take you out here."

"Are you going to kill me then?" Xemnas asked.

"No," Axel replied with a light cuckle. "I doubt I could ever bring myself to."

"If you don't," Xemnas said, his tone becoming more worried now. "You'll just die too. I won't let you throw away your life."

"At this point," Axel laughed, rubbing his head against his mentor's larger one. "you don't have a say in the matter. I'm not a cub anymore, and I'm going to make my own decisions. But that's not why I brought you out here."

Xemnas didn't turn his head much, just enough to look into the eyes of the student he'd taken in so long ago. He wasn't surprised to see the fire burning in his eyes. Even before he'd gotten his power to manipulate and control fire, he'd always had that. He was however surprised to see the desperation, determination and kindness in those eyes. They were things you didn't often see mixed, especially here. He knew whatever he was doing was crazy, but he was more than willing to do it. Slowly Xemnas turned his head more to look at him.

"What are you planning?" he asked.

"Listen carefully," Axel said, smiling to him as if they were having a pleasant conversation. "We need to make this look as real as possible. That'll buy you some time at least. The other Assassins can't move until Xehanort orders them to. I already gave Zexion a clear indication of what's going on, and they'll probably be coming here to help you. When they get here, you all need to get out of here. Cross the river with Demyx and Vexen's powers as quick as you can." Xemnas smiled too and looked across the river like the conversation wasn't as dire as it was.

"What about you?" Xemnas asked quietly. No one would hear them talking over the roar of the river. "I can't leave you behind."

"I'll have to stay behind," Axel explained. "Its the only way. It'll confuse them and buy you some more time. Besides, I'll have to cover your tracks as best I can, and at least keep the other Assassins from following you if I can."

"They'll kill you Axel," Xemnas said, the pain beginning to enter his voice. He was trying hard to fight it down, to make it look as real as possible.

"I know," Axel said quietly, rubbing his head against Xemnas's again. "I know, but I'm not scared. We both know there's no way Xehanort would let one of his Assassins get away, not without some kind of miracle. But if it means you guys can escape, then I'm willing to die. I'll do whatever it takes."

"I can't let you do this," Xemnas said mournfully. Axel smiled sadly at him.

"Unfortunately," Axel said quietly. "You don't have a choice. Things don't always go as we planned bug guy. I think we both know that by now."

Axel could practically see this decision tearing Xemnas apart. He hated to think he had to leave Axel behind to certain death, but he knew as well that it would be the only chance they got to finally escape and be free. Xemnas had never wanted this to be the kind of choice he'd have to make, between the life of one of his precious students, or the lives of everyone in the squad. It couldn't be easy. But Axel also knew Xemnas well, and knew that though it would hurt him, he'd agree to Axel's plan. It wasn't just because it was for the best of all of them, but because he could see that Axel had already made up his mind. They both knew Axel would live and die an Assassin here, and Xehanort wouldn't let him escape without some miracle. If Axel was going to die, he wanted to pick how he died. As much as it hurt, he couldn't say no.

Axel could sense the others drawing near. They were watching carefully, unsure what Axel was going to do now. They didn't want to believe that he would try and kill Xemnas, but they also didn't want to spook him. They knew well how Assassins worked by now, and they were unsure how to act. Slowly Axel stood and backed away from Xemnas watching him for a long moment.

"Goodbye Axel," Xemnas said quietly. Axel gave another sad smile.

"Goodbye," he replied.

Axel tensed in a flash, readying his claws to strike. He wasn't actually going to hurt Xemnas, but for all of their sakes, he needed it to look real. Apparently the others had taken that not so well either, because in and instant he felt Xigbar leap onto him, pushing all of his weight onto him and cracking his skull into the hard rock on the ground. Axel felt his mind slipping into unconsciousness, but couldn't help but find that a little funny. Even with all of that, they still weren't willing to attack him.

Axel woke up with a start, hearing the sounds of snarls and growls around him. He slowly found his feet and turned to look around, seeing both Xira and Nixul standing there, along with several other Assassins. Xira was giving Axel a long hard look, but Nixul on the other hand snarled at him. He'd never really liked Axel, and he wasn't very happy with him now. Axel turned and looked around the rest of the area. There were no signs of the rest of his squad, and the river was a ragging wall of water. He wished them the best.

It didn't mean they were out of trouble yet though. One of the Assassins here, a large cat named Maxlaj was also a water user, one of the few in the pride. He was eying the river down below carefully, obviously focusing on how he could get the river to calm long enough to cross it. Before Axel could really think of anything to do to fix the situation though, he heard a roar and turned to see Nixul hit him hard across the muzzle. He didn't use his powers, but his claws still shredded a large hole around and across his right eye and made him roar in pain. It wasn't deep, and he was pretty sure he'd be able to see out of it fine, but it hurt.

"Traitor," he hissed. "You helped them escape, didn't you? I knew you were too soft for this job!"

Axel hissed back at him, but he knew there was little point in trying to attack right now. If they were going to kill him, it was obviously going to be on their own terms. There were far too many lions here for him to try and fight his way out, and they all knew it. If he was going to try and take them out so they couldn't follow the others, he'd have to be smart about this. Still snarling but ignoring the blood running down his face, he straightened up and met his gaze head on.

"Still a tough guy huh?" Nixul laughed. "Well we'll see about that. You must be rather lonely now, without your squad and all. Maybe we should take you to see them before you die. Wouldn't that be nice?"

The way he said it was snarling, clearly threatening. He was obviously wanting to kill Axel, but the way he wanted to do it is what made Axel snarl more. He wanted to take him out with them and kill him in front of the rest of his squad, so they'd have to watch him die. It was cruel, but that was just how Nixul was at this point. If Xemnas had already told the others what he was planning, he didn't want to add any more burden on them already.

Nixul just laughed at him though and shoved him back, past most of the other lions and towards Xira. The lioness walked up beside him though as the others began to look down towards the river. No doubt, they were looking for a way down below where they could begin following after them though. Axel knew it was more than his life was worth to try and run away from them. They'd just kill him before he got two steps. He was powerful, but no where near that powerful. To his surprise though, Xira leaned her head closer to his.

"I'll help you escape," she said. "There has to be a way. Listen, I'm not really the sentimental type, but I know that you love those lions a lot. So go meet up with them."

"There's no way I'd get away," he replied. "I already made up my mind. I have to get rid of those Assassins here." Xira nodded in understanding.

"Then I'll go out with you," she said. "You're one of the few lions I do like, so if you're going down, I'll go down with you."

"Got anything in mind?" Axel asked.

"Take out Spearhead Point," she offered.

Axel looked down at the scarred and large rock beneath their feet. It was the farthest point out from the rest of the rock, hanging right over the rest of the river. If he took out this rock, it would fall and kill all of them. It would take some kind of miracle for any of them to survive that fall, let alone the rock falling on top of them and the waters of the river. Even so, he knew it was the best bet he had at making sure his friends got away.

He wasn't entirely sure why he was trusting Xira either, except maybe the fact that there was something new in her eyes, some new spark he hadn't seen before, even while he'd been training under her. Either way, she was also looking at the rock. Countless battles for life and death had happened on this rock, and with the powers of the Nobodies clashing countless times over it, it was only a matter of time before it finally cracked under pressure. If Axel could hit it hard enough, he could sent the whole rock crashing down below.

It would take an insane amount of power, even for such a powerful Nobody like himself. Just using an attack that strong could very well kill him after its use. But he knew it was really the only way he was going to be able to help them. If he pushed enough of his concentrated fire out down towards the river below, he could snap the few remaining supports this rock had, and send it crashing down below. With a nod to Xira, he tensed. She prepared to spring on the others.

Axel summoned his powers, letting the fires in his veins burn hotter than ever. His body wasn't just warm now, it felt like it was going to burst into flames. It hurt, but he continued to gather more and more of his power, summoning it to him and concentrating it into one final attack. He knew the others wouldn't be too far away yet, and they'd probably be able to hear what was going to happen next, if not see it. But he didn't care. The only thing he'd ever wanted was to see the others smile, and even if it hurt them he was going to give them the chance to smile again.

Nixul noticed him and whirled around with a roar, leaping towards him. To their surprise though, Xira leaped in front of him to defend him, pushing them back towards the edge of the rock and breathing her flames over them. Their confusion was obviously understandable. Xira had always been the perfect Assassin, yet somehow Axel's resolve had become hers. She was ready to give everything to help him save his squad. Then again, she'd done the same for her brother.

Only when Axel couldn't hold it anymore did he let the fire explode, and explode it did. A ball of fire rose into the air, both above and below him, striking the rock hard. Everyone on the rock seemed to pause in surprise as he staggered forward and fell hard onto his stomach. He couldn't help but smile though, feeling drained but accomplished. Nixul snarled at Xira, who was now just laughing at him. If they had wanted to survive, they would have run as soon as that fire ball hit.

"What's so funny traitor?" he snarled.

"Only that its far too late now," she replied.

Before the others could question what she meant, Spearhead point gave one final crack, making the rock lurch and slide down several inches. No fear set in when the Assassins looked around, just confusion. Perhaps they'd never thought a single attack could bring down the mighty Spearhead Point, at least not so soon. Their last chance was now gone though as the rock groaned and then snapped off of the cliff that had been holding it for so long. It tipped forward, its jagged arrow shaped tip now plunging right towards the river.

Several of the Assassins panicked and tried running for the edge, only to have it blocked by Xira at the last second. Gravity had won out though, and as it tipped forward every single Assassin that had come to Spearhead Point that day fell screaming towards the frosty river below. Xira was laughing, her eyes flaming now more than ever. Maybe she wasn't right in the head, but at least she'd finally been able to do something that she actually believed in for once, dying though she now was. Axel on the other hand smiled as he fell towards the raging waters below. Xehanort had many Assassins, but the loss of so many would be devastating even for him.

Axel wasn't scared to die. He'd helped the only creatures he'd ever really cared about escape and have a chance to live a free life. Xehanort wouldn't send any new Assassins after them for a while at least, giving them a chance to get away. Not only that, by then their tracks would have disappeared. He knew it would hurt them to know he was gone, but he felt at peace. He'd made his choice, and now they had a chance to be happy again.

Hitting the water from so high was like hitting concrete. It hurt, and as he was plunged below into the icy depths, he found himself still smiling. He'd never liked water, but as the rock came crashing down into the water after the shocked bodies of the Assassins he felt himself losing consciousness again. A rather horrible way to die, seeing how it hurt and there would be nothing left of him. Even if the rock didn't crush him, he'd definitely drown in his current that sucked everything under. It didn't matter to Axel though. He found himself glad it was all over.

He'd do it all again if it meant his friends would be safe.

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 **There's the end of chapter seven. Don't worry, Axel isn't going to die here. There wouldn't be much of a story to focus around him if this was the end. I suppose I could have ended it here, but I've got way too many plans for this story.**

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 **Yes, his final attack on Spearhead Point was basically his kamikaze attack that he used to save Sora from the Dusks in Kingdom Hearts II. I felt like it needed to be added in there. Speaking of Sora, some interesting characters will appear next chapter.**

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 **Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! This is a lot of fun to write, and I can't wait until everything starts falling together for this AU.**


	8. Battle Scars

**Here we go with chapter eight. In this particular chapter, Axel will get to meet some interesting characters that will help set him on the right path. He won't be separated from our favorite Nobodies forever though, and we'll eventually be seeing more from all of them. For right now though, we won't see them for a while.**

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 **This chapter will begin to introduce the idea of Keys more firmly into the story, as well as expand the walls of Axel's world just a little bit farther. Eventually we'll get to start meeting other characters as well and see what's really going on outside of Xehanort's control.**

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Chapter Eight: Battle Scars

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Axel was aware of the pain first more than anything. He was just sore all over, and he couldn't remember exactly why at first. He just remembered falling and icy water. He quickly remembered though and opened his eyes, knowing that he very well should have been dead. His right eye didn't open though, as some sort of sticky substance and been spread over it. That stung, as well as his left side. He turned his head to try and look, seeing some sort of leaves spread over his side, where obviously there had been a pretty bad wound.

It wasn't Marluxia's work. The leaves were far too dark, like they'd been from plants that had been alive for quite some time instead of the new shoots that he summoned. It was also packed on inexpertly and rather thickly as if the person who'd done it wasn't familiar with healing that well and wasn't sure how much was needed. It seemed though that they'd known which plants to use though and had found quite a lot of them. They'd also spread the same leaves over the wound he'd gotten from Nixul on his eye. He'd probably gotten the other during the fall.

He wasn't entirely sure who'd found him or why they seemed so interested in helping him out. If it was Xehanort, why wasn't he dead? If it was a stranger then what did they have to gain from helping him? He looked around the small cave. The rock matched the same gray stone that made up the compound of Xehanort's pride, so he was either back there or wasn't too far away from it. As he was looking around the cave however, a small voice called out to him.

"Oh," it said. "You're awake. Try not to move around too much, okay?"

He looked up and was surprised to see a small lioness there. She was a light brown color, but it seemed to be tinted almost pink. Her eyes were big and brown as well, a dark color which stood out against her coat and the white of her underbelly. She was still kind of small, meaning she was just either really little like Zexion, or she was only around thirteen years old. Axel himself was around twenty, so he was much bigger than her. As she ran over to him, still smiling, he couldn't help but wonder who was with her. She couldn't have pulled him out of the river.

She ran up instantly and pressed her small nose into his. He'd seen this kind of greeting before, between good friends and families. He hadn't seen it since he was a small cub, since this kind of thing was considered to be weakness in Xehanort's pride. He supposed then that he hadn't been recaptured. She was too big to be taken in by the pride, and she was too, well normal too. After a bit of a pause he nosed her back gently.

"We found you in the river," she said. "But it looked like you'd been in some kind of fight too. Riku didn't really want to help you, but Sora and I said we were going to, so he helped us bring you here. My name's Kairi."

"Well," Axel chuckled, though he winced at the pulling muscles in his sides. "Your Riku was probably right to want to stay away. Most lions do."

"Huh?" Kairi asked in surprise, frowning to him. "You're a little odd..."

Axel wasn't sure how to respond to that as she stepped back from him. To her he must seem like one of the weirdest lions she'd ever met. To him though, she was the one who was acting weird. Or maybe it was right? He'd lived so long in Xehanort's pride that he could hardly remember what it was like to act like a normal lion. It still hadn't really sunk in yet that he wasn't waiting for Xehanort to walk in the cave at any moment.

Axel's ear twitched, and he turned his head to look at the entrance of the cave. He'd heard two approaching sets of feet, though they were definitely not like any in the pride he'd been at. They were far too loud, too soft. Two more lions came into the cave, both obviously males. One was smaller than even the female, but appeared to the same age. This one was a dark brown color, though his coat became nearly black as it neared his paws. His underbelly was clearly white, and what had grown in on his mane was spiked on either side of his head and above it a bit, matching his coat. His blue eyes shone clearly against his coat. This little male smiled at him.

The last was older, probably around sixteen or so. His full mane wasn't far off from growing in, and he was already a pretty impressive lion. He was thin but obviously built well and had lost of muscles already from the hard work he'd put in. This lion was a bright silver color, brighter than even Xemnas's coat. His underbelly was white, and his mane was also a bright white color. Most of it hung down over his face and into his eyes a bit, which were a brighter blue than even the little brown one. It was obvious this one didn't trust him as he glared at him.

The little brown one just smiled and rushed right into the cave though, running right over to Axel and shoving his nose right into his like Kairi had just done. Axel blinked as he looked at him. Truly, he'd never met a lion quite like him. He was old enough he should have stopped being quite so friendly and acting more like a man. Even so, he was acting with the same kind of happy enthusiasm that a young cub that hadn't seen hardship would. Slowly, Axel nosed him back as well.

"You're awake," the brown cub said happily. "I'm glad. We were really worried when we saw you washed up on the shore. I'm Sora, and I can see you already met Kairi. That's Riku. We've been best friends for a long time." Axel chuckled.

"Ah," he said. "I see. Well, thanks for the help I guess, but I can take it from here."

"What?" Kairi gasped. "You cannot! Look at how badly your hurt! At least let us help you!"

"I doubt you'd want to help someone like me," Axel said, looking away from the two cubs in his face.

"What do you mean by that?" Sora asked.

"I thought so," Riku said, nodding to himself as he stepped forward and eyed Axel. "You're one of Xehanort's Nobodies, aren't you?"

The very mention of the old lion's name brought a new kind of chill in the air that had nothing to do with the winter wind beginning to blow outside. Riku didn't flinch from Axel's gaze however as the older lion turned to look at him. Kairi and Sora seemed to back away from Axel then, though they still looked conflicted. Axel wasn't sure if the two annoyed him or just confused him. What was the point in looking at him like that if his kind had been their enemy so long?

"Was would be more accurate," Axel admitted, though he wasn't entirely sure why he was admitting it. "If they see me they're going to kill me."

"What?" Kairi asked. "Why?"

"They're your friends right?" Sora asked. Axel chuckled rather humorlessly.

"You obviously don't know what he's like," Axel replied. "What they're like. In that pride, there's no room for weakness. Only the strong and ruthless survive, or those sheltered from it."

"Exactly why I said we should have left him in the river," Riku growled. Kairi hissed and swatted at Riku angrily.

"You don't mean that," she hissed. "You wouldn't have let him die."

"After everything they've done to us, to everyone else," Riku hissed back, though he didn't seem to be threatening her in any way. "you think they deserve to live?"

"You heard what Omar said," Sora argued with his female friend. "These cubs don't have a choice!"

Axel paused and raised his head more when he heard the sound of the familiar name. How long had it been since he'd heard it? He wasn't sure he even really remembered him. He was somewhat glad to hear that he was all right, if he was the same that he was thinking of. Axel could hardly remember Milo, and he wasn't really sure if he hated him or not. Either way though, it was kind of comforting to think that they had lived.

Axel chuckled again and stood. The muscles on his sides stretched and ached, and he winced as he stood, apparently surprising all three cubs. He could tell they were good friends though. Only good friends could argue so much like this. All three cubs leaped back in surprise as he turned and began making his way carefully out of the cave. Riku just seemed to blink a moment, but Kairi and Sora ran in front of him and tried to stop him. Not that they could really do much though, and he just stepped past them and kept walking. His body hurt badly, but he was fairly sure he could find somewhere safe to rest for a while. Since he was alive, he might as well try and find his squad again. He didn't have much else in this world.

"W-What are you doing?" Kairi gasped. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Lay back down," Sora insisted.

"Nah," Axel replied. "I've got some friends I need to find. Besides, the longer you hang around me, the more you'll be in danger. I'm a wanted man. So thanks for your help, but its better for all of us if I just go."

"Riku say something," Kairi begged her larger and older friend.

Riku didn't seem to know what to say at the moment, or if he should say anything at all. Axel just chuckled again and turned to look out the door. As painful and annoying as this was going to be, it was obvious these three couldn't agree if they wanted him around or not, so he wasn't going to bother them with trying to figure it out.

Besides, Riku was probably right in not trusting every Nobody that he saw. It was probably really dangerous for them, and he needed to get as far away from Xehanort as possible before he sent Assassins out after him. He couldn't be sure how far the river had carried him, but he needed to go and as fast as possible.

As he was going to the cave mouth however, an unfamiliar scent reached his nose and he froze instantly. He was a dark scent, one that carried death and decay with it, one that just meant that something was near that wasn't supposed to be here? He tried to think back through his training to anything that could smell like that. Only one thing came to mind: Heartless.

Axel instantly tensed even though it hurt, a low growl leaving his mouth as he looked around the clearing in the trees in front of him, searching for any signs of the creatures. The cubs behind him tensed nervously as they watched him, obviously unsure what this new change in behavior could mean. Slowly Sora inched forward, catching sight of the Heartless at the same time Axel had. They weren't a very comforting sight.

They appeared to look like large male lions, but they were completely black, darker than even shadows. Their eyes were soulless and appeared to be yellow, though they certainly didn't glow. As soon as they spotted Axel and Sora at the mouth of the cave they began rushing towards them. There were no snarls on their faces, no expression whatsoever. But Axel knew that they weren't to be messed with. Heartless would attack anything that still had a heart mercilessly.

"Heartless," Sora gasped.

In an instant Riku had rushed out towards them, snarling and obviously intent on fighting them. Kairi and Sora were close behind, which honestly surprised Axel. They didn't have powers like he did, what chance did they stand against Heartless? Even a fully grown lion would have a hard time surviving against creatures like these, let alone three cubs. Axel didn't have long to wonder about it however, because Riku leaped onto one.

What looked to be pure light shone off of his paws when he attacked the creature, dragging it down screaming to the dirt. It was obvious that the light hurt them badly, but Axel couldn't help but blink. Sora and Kairi also attacked with the same light shining off of their paws. They obviously weren't Nobodies. He'd never seen powers like that. So what could they possibly be? He tried to think back to when he was a cub.

He'd heard countless stories about the wars between the Heartless and the normal lions who'd lived here, about the Nobodies and the Keys who took different forms and fought in these wars. Not all of them were good stories, though he couldn't exactly remember the legends themselves. He did remember though that Keys were supposed to be creatures of pure light to combat the pure darkness of the Heartless. So now the question was, what was he supposed to do?

Axel had never been one to get into battles that didn't concern him. You lived longer that way. But some part of him made him stay. He could have easily left in the chaos of the battle that was already going on. Those Heartless were going to keep attacking those children until they were dead or had all been defeated. The Keys were obviously a much bigger threat now than him. Even so, if those kids were killed he'd have to live with that, and he'd still have the issue that they'd start hunting him anyway. It would be better to fight in a group than by himself.

He didn't know these kids. He didn't know their stories or why they were here in the first place. But he wasn't going to just let them die either. Axel looked up as he spotted Kairi get knocked over by one of the Heartless and pinned down. None of these kids were trained warriors like he was, which is why the Heartless were just mobbing them randomly and without reaction to their attacks. They were going to get themselves killed this way. The girl distracted the two boys, who were also soon dragged to the ground. Axel sighed.

"You just keep getting yourself dragged into things," he said quietly to himself. "don't you?"

He didn't hesitate though and leaped straight into the middle of what had previously been the battle. He snarled and tensed as the Heartless began to turn to look at him. He wasn't nearly at full strength, but it would be more than enough for this battle. A familiar heat began to rise through his body, quickly burning away the leaves that had sealed the wounds on his body closed. The battle scars he now bore from that last attack of his were closed by now clearly visible.

He sent a wave of fire crashing out from his body, throwing all of the Heartless back and off of the three cubs, who quickly leaped to their feet in surprise. Axel felt rather dizzy, and he knew this wasn't really going to help anything, but he couldn't back down now. When he entered a fight, he had to keep fighting until he died. In the world he'd lived in, there was no room for mistakes or second chances. He smirked at the Heartless, who'd begun to pace carefully. Even they who ran on instinct solely had realized that he was a hunter, not one of the hunted.

Flames began to dance on his front paws again as always, fueling the fire in his veins. He didn't stop there though, and quickly sealed the remaining Heartless within one of his fiery barriers. They began to bristle and turn to face him, but he just continued to smile. He was going to regret this later, and he knew it was going to hurt. But he couldn't just give up here. He had people he needed to see, and even if he didn't know why he'd helped those kids, he had. He didn't even glance at them as his claws kneaded the ground beneath his feet.

"Ready to play with fire?" he taunted the Heartless.

Axel wasn't sure if it was the threat in his voice or the words that had gotten the Heartless riled up, but they leaped at him. He was ready for this though and leaped to the side, snarling and slashing his claws through one, who leaped back in a howling fit of flames. He didn't let up though, leaping to the side again. He nearly lost his footing as he did so as a jolt of pain ran through his injured side. One of the Heartless took it as a sign of weakness though and leaped at him.

The thing was, he had anticipated this battle with the fact that he was hurt. The instant it had leaped at him he'd sent another wave of fire spinning out from his body, which slammed into the Heartless and sent it tumbling back on fire. Before he had a chance to try and leap on it though, Sora did. His brightly glowing paws tore though it quickly, and then the young cub landed in front of him, obviously bristled for battle.

"Leave us alone," he cried.

Axel almost found it funny the way he'd said it. Like a bunch of mindless monsters were going to listen to a cub and leave them alone. Kairi and Riku both quickly joined their friend however, bristling and hissing at the Heartless. He wasn't sure what was going on in their heads, or if they were simply trying to return the favor by helping him when he'd saved them. Either way, he couldn't be picky, and bristled again as the Heartless inched forward.

These kids weren't trained warriors, and they weren't going to last long like this, especially with Heartless around like this. Keys were said to attract Heartless as well, since the creatures feared the power that strong Keys could have. Even so, he was glad to not be facing the Heartless alone. He knew well that even an inexperienced foe could prove a dangerous one. At least they knew how to control their powers as well.

The Heartless leaped forward again, obviously intent on destroying all of them. The three cubs leaped forward to meet them, and Axel was just behind, his claws outstretched and the fire in his veins burning brightly. In times like these, there wasn't time to worry about what could happen, only act and make things happen. As outnumbered as they were, all of them had power on their side, and Axel's injuries weren't going to keep him from fighting, especially now that fighting was the difference between him living and dying.

He slashed through another Heartless, shoving it down to the ground and making sure to light it on fire as he did so. Another leaped onto his back and sank its claws into his back, making him roar in pain. Kairi leaped onto it it when she saw, seeming to confuse the creature in its target. As soon as it was distracted Axel whirled around and sank his claws into its chest, setting this one on fire too. He shoved it out of his way and turned again.

Riku and Sora were currently tearing into one of the Heartless together, making sure to drag it down with their combined weight. Another leaped for Axel, and he tensed, only to feel someone launch off of his back and over his head to attack the Heartless. He paused only a moment in surprise, but Kairi was so small that he'd hardly felt it. It wasn't the type of fighting she could keep doing forever, but it was effective now. He leaped onto the Heartless with her, setting this one on fire with his claws as well and then leaping off.

With Kairi ducking just under his chest and leaping onto a Heartless in front of him, he turned his claws towards the creature as well. He could tell that Kairi was already pretty good at fighting in a team, as well as reading her allies, untrained though she was. All of these kids could become really good fighters if they were properly trained, which just went to show how easily these kids could pick up on things.

He didn't let that distract him though as he hit the Heartless hard and then looked up, seeing another leaping towards him from behind. Kairi, who wasn't as injured now and was far more agile than the large male, leaped over him and onto it, giving Axel time to turn around and sink his flaming claws into it. Before another could leap at him and Kairi though, Sora and Riku had leaped onto it, joining the two where they were in the battle. Axel leaped off of the dying Heartless to look around. There weren't very many of the Heartless left, but there were still quite a few. Axel smirked and tensed, looking around at all of them.

"Man these guys are annoying," he said. "Get down!"

Riku, Sora and Kairi all hit the ground, knowing well that his powers were far beyond what they were used to seeing. As soon as they had, Axel sent one final wave of fire out from his body. The startled Heartless didn't have time to dodge or prepare for this one, and the last of them were soon set on fire and died. Feeling more dizzy and exhausted than ever, Axel collapsed onto his side and just laid there, chuckling to himself at the absurdity of it all.

"H-Hey," Sora cried. "Are you okay?"

Within a few moments, all three cubs had approached him, even Riku who'd seemed so unsure of his presence earlier. Sora and Kairi shoved their heads under him, trying to get him back onto his feet. He didn't move to try and get up, far too tired to. Besides that, they weren't really strong enough or large enough to lift him, and he found their efforts amusing. Riku, seeing their plight, shoved his own nose under the large lion and managed to raise his front half and drag him back into the cave, where he sat him down as gently as he could.

Sora and Kairi looked extremely worried and not entirely sure what to do, though Kairi began busying herself with the dried leaves that had been on his wounds earlier. She quickly chewed them up and then spread them over the claw marks on his back. Axel raised his head to watch her for a long moment, honestly fascinated by their willingness to help him, a Nobody they didn't even know. Was that all it took for them to trust him? Saving their lives once?

"Don't do that again," she chastised him. "You could have died! You're lucky these wounds didn't open up again! Now lay still!"

"You're really good at fighting," Sora said, not seeming to notice or mind his own injuries as he seemed to worriedly watch Kairi fix Axel's own. Axel raised a brow at him.

"Comes with being raised to do nothing but kill," he said.

"Is Xehanort really as bad as they say?" Sora asked, meeting Axel's gaze with no fear or hesitation in his own. Axel chuckled at this again.

"Oh no," he replied. "He's worse."

"Why do you keep laughing like that?" Sora asked. Axel was beginning to get the feeling that the kid wasn't ever going to stop asking questions, but he couldn't help but smile sadly.

"Don't know," he replied. "Maybe its because if I do, I might remember what its like to feel something."

The atmosphere in the cave changed, and he quickly looked towards the mouth of the cave again. Why had he said something like that? He wasn't sure. Maybe these kids just reminded him of when he was a kid, when everything had been simpler and he'd had the chance to laugh and trust so easily. Either way, he had told them. There was nothing but silence for a long time, and even Kairi stopped what she was doing and seemed to watch him for a long moment.

"Well I think you're a good person," she said. "I mean, you just saved all of us."

"A good person, huh?" he chuckled to himself. Riku seemed to sigh in front of him, making the Nobody look up again.

"Look," he said. "You're injured, and I guess we kind of owe you. You're not getting anywhere like that, so you'll have to stay with us until you can stand on your own four paws. Then when you're better you can go searching for these friends of yours, all right?"

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Axel asked with a raised brow.

"Don't know," Riku replied with a slight smile. "But what kind of friend would I be if I let you wander off by yourself now?"

The use of the word friend honestly surprised Axel. They were friends now? Just like that? They hardly knew him! For all they knew, he could be lying. Though he didn't mean any harm to him, something about this seemed odd to him. Was this how people outside of the pride acted? Could there really be people who were able to trust so easily in this world? Sora and Kairi's reactions to this made him laugh quietly to himself though. They both excitedly bounced up and down, then began to purr and rub their small heads into his.

"So," Riku said with a small smile as well when the two had stepped away from the larger lion. "What's your name? We can't call you nothing, now can we?" Axel smirked as he looked up at them, giving them the same mischievous smile he was so well known for.

"Its Axel," he replied. "Got it memorized?"

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 **And there's the end of chapter eight. This one again was to introduce Keys and Heartless farther into the story. It'll be some time before the real legends behind them and what was going on in the world is revealed, as well as Xehanort's plans. Until then though, I hope you'll enjoy reading this story and seeing where it goes.**


	9. While Embers Still Burn

**Here we go with chapter nine. This chapter will have some more information about what they're all doing floating around, and why Kairi, Riku, and Sora are wandering around out here so close to Xehanort's territory anyway. That'll be fun. Anyway, we're slowly moving to where some reunions are going to be taking place, and towards some more interesting occurrences such as that.**

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 **Again, this story is an AU, so its not exactly going to follow the canon of Kingdom Hearts, if at all. Anyway, if you're enjoying it, feel free to leave a review for me.**

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Chapter Nine: While Embers Still Burn

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Axel was pretty sure Sora was full of a completely endless stream of questions. The instant Axel was awake the next morning he'd started asking questions (only since Kairi had gone out with Riku to find some more of the herbs they could). He asked things about how Axel's life had been, how he'd gotten his powers, and what his friends were like.

Axel answered most of them honestly, finding the teen's enthusiasm both exhausting and strangely refreshing. But he didn't answer everything that was asked of him, mostly because some of the things that were asked weren't really the kind of things that Axel felt like recounting. They certainly weren't the kind of things that a cub needed to know.

The questions only stopped for a while when Kairi returned and leaped onto the small brown cub for badgering Axel all morning when he should have been resting. Watching the female cub roughing Sora up playfully a bit reminded Axel of Larxene and Demyx. As much as the two constantly argued, they were pretty much partners in crime. Riku just chuckled as he watched the two tussling about like kittens again and shook his head.

"I'm surprised you were able to put up with him this long," the silver cub admitted. "Even our teachers weren't that patient."

"Comes with the job," Axel replied with a shrug.

That wasn't untrue. Assassins had to be patient and willing to lie in wait for hours to get their prey. It had never been Axel's strong suit when he was younger, but after countless hours being practically mauled by Xira he'd quickly learned to become patient. He'd waited for nearly two days before to get his prey alone (this being a small and injured gazelle during his training that he'd killed when it had ventured too far from its herd). He was reasonably certain that he could withstand the long list of questions with no problem. Riku's ear twitched only slightly at this.

"About that," he said. "What was your job, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Are you sure you want to know about that?" Axel asked. "I'm pretty sure you'll regret hearing the answer."

"Mmm. Maybe not."

He was surprised at the amount of trust Riku seemed to be willing to put into him at the moment. Before he'd been cautious, but now he was willing to just let the subject slide with no comment. Was that what it was like out here? Could lions really choose to just trust like that? Before, he'd been so cautious of everyone and had hardly trusted anyone outside of his own Squad. It had taken him quite some time to accept Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia and Larxene into his squad. These kids had obviously lived a life much different than this own.

"So you said you have a title right?" Sora quipped as he managed to wriggle his nose out from under Kairi's paw. "What was it?"

"Sora," Kairi hissed like his older sister. Axel just chuckled again.

"Nah," Axel said. "He's all right. Yeah it is. Everyone who survives long enough gets a title. I suppose I had two. One was Number XIII. The other was the Flurry of Dancing Flames."

"The Flurry of..." Riku said with a raised brow. "What?"

"I didn't pick it," Axel said quickly.

"It does fit," Kairi said, shooting Riku a quick glare.

"What does 'Eight' mean?" Sora asked. "Is that a rank?"

"Not really," Axel replied. "Just a number. I was the eighth member to join my squad. They're basically like the only family I have left at this point. There were twelve of us. I certainly hope there still is."

The atmosphere in the cave had seemed to change nearly instantly once again. Axel was suddenly very aware of the fact that they were all looking at him with the same eyes. There was some pain there, something that bordered pity.

It wasn't just pity though, some desire to try and help him, to find a way to ease the bitter pain. He chuckled, but they were already beginning to hear it for what it truly was: pain and loneliness, the likes of which they had never experienced.

It wasn't the loneliness of being an Assassin, of expecting the whole world to hate him and leave him sulking away into the darkness. It wasn't the loneliness of being separated from his squad, the only lions who'd ever really known him.

It was the loneliness that had spawned from meeting the far more normal members of his race, those cubs that had lived a normal life, even if it wasn't now, that had made connections and were willing to protect those connections. It was the pain of knowing that they were reaching out to him, but would never easily reach him.

They could smile and laugh, joke around and just enjoy each other's company. He'd never had that luxury. Even with his squad, there had been some threat on their lives near. His jokes had been meant to lighten the mood, but they seemed far too dark, and far too serious. Though veiled, his claws and fangs had always been ready to strike. He had never relaxed.

So why was it now, when he was with these cubs, did he find himself beginning to relax? What was different? Maybe it was Riku's older brother mentality to the two younger cubs, and the way he picked on both of them. Maybe it was Kairi's motherly nature as she tried to reign even Axel in and keep everything orderly. Maybe it was Sora's youthful nature and smile.

Or maybe, truly and simply, Axel was just tired of fighting.

"Anyway," Axel said, shaking his head to dismiss the thoughts and looking up again. "what are three cubs doing so close to Xehanort's territory in the first place?"

"Oh," Sora said, as if answering questions had never crossed his mind. "Well I was looking for Riku and Kairi."

"We got separated a few months ago," Riku explained. "We were fighting Heartless with our masters and then everyone got split off from each other during the attack."

"We're going back to Ansem the Wise's pride," Kairi finished. "We're pretty sure that's where our teachers and our other friend went."

"Ansem the Wise?" Axel asked, his eyes flashing a moment.

"Have you heard of him?" Sora asked. Axel nodded and gave them a mischievous smile.

"Everyone's heard of him," he replied. "Why do you think there are so many lions in Xehanort's pride who are willing to rebel now?"

"They say he never turns anyone away," Riku said purposefully, looking right at Axel's face. "He's even taken in a few Nobodies from Xehanort's pride, those that have gotten away. Maybe if you're looking for your friends, you'll find them there?"

"Not Xemnas," Axel replied, shaking his head with a fond smile. "Probably knew him when he was younger, especially if his real name's anything to go off of. The names with x's, they're fake names. But we don't like to use our real ones."

"Why not?" Sora asked.

"Maybe because Xehanort made us all into monsters," Axel replied, looking up with the saddest eyes they'd ever seen. "Maybe because those of us who survived this long did so because they had to become the terrible creatures he'd envisioned. We're not what we used to be. Let's face it, even a bunch of cubs know to stay away from me."

"But you can't all be bad," Kairi countered, laying her paw on top of his. "I mean, you're not bad, Axel."

"Can you really say that?" he asked.

"Yes," Sora and Kairi said at the same time.

Axel just blinked at them, as if unsure how to take it. Sora and Kairi were giving him faces that told him that they were determined to make him see the things that they saw in him, whatever those really were. It made him smile, and for the first time, they saw a true and genuine smile on his face when he looked at them. He truly didn't know what to say to that. But he supposed that kids like these, who'd been able to see the brighter things that life had to offer, would be able to say things like this with such conviction.

"What strange kids," he said, mostly to himself. "But Xemnas still wouldn't have gone to Ansem. He'd just want to get away."

"But all of you," Kairi said. "You could help right?"

"Who would want help from us?"

"We would," Sora insisted. Axel laughed, a true and genuine laugh.

"Besides," Riku said. "If we're going to part ways when we find Ansem's Pride again, you'd better go find your friends and bring them with you." He gave Axel a smile then. "Or else I'd have to come find you myself."

"Oh," Axel said with a mischievous smile. "Is that a challenge?"

"It might be."

Axel just smiled and shook his head. What was he supposed to do with kids like these? He supposed though, that they weren't going to let him just up and leave while they were around. They were going to keep him around until he was at least more healed, and that could take a while. He was a little glad for it though. He was hurt, and it was far better to have help, even inexperienced help, than to be wandering around alone in this condition. Who knows? Maybe it would be good for him to be around some other young lions.

As he sat there thinking about it though, another scent caught his attention. His senses had been trained as an Assassin to be more powerful than even his other Nobody comrades, and he quickly caught a set of familiar scents. It was still fairly far away, and the wind was blowing towards the cave, not towards them. But he knew those scents he had caught, and they belonged to those of three Assassins from Xehanort's Pride. Though his squad's tracks had been thoroughly covered by last night's rains, their tracks would not be. Obviously Xehanort hadn't given up the chase yet. Axel let out a low growl, making the three cubs jump.

"Wh-What-" Sora began.

"Hush," Axel hissed, standing as quickly as he could and inching towards the cave mouth.

He looked out and spotted three familiar Nobodies. One was an ice user like Vexen, a small little female that was dark purple with a gray underbelly and bright red eyes. Her name was Rixav, and though she was quite a ways down and on the other end of the river, she was already eying the water. Next to her was a tall male with a large red mane, dark blue eyes, and a dark tan with lighter tan underbelly. His name was Xergav, and he was an earth user.

The last was another female, one of the largest Axel had ever seen. She was a white lioness with no variation of color on her underbelly. Her eyes were a livid pink, and her body was covered many battle scars that set her apart from her comrades. She had been one of the first, and was certainly the oldest Assassin in the pride. What appeared to be the white bangs of a mane hung down into her eyes. She used darkness as her main weapon, a lioness named Xilaha.

All three of them were preoccupied with the roaring water, and the cave was still within the shadows of the trees. The roar of the water made it impossible for them to hear them here, and there was a good chance that they could sneak away while they were focused on crossing the river first. If they could get away without being noticed it would at least give them a head start.

Even if they were noticed sneaking away though, they'd still have to cross the water first, and you didn't want to rush that now. Axel wasn't sure what had driven them to come this far down the river just to cross. Maybe they'd found some of the bodies of the other Assassins washed up on the shore. Either way, Axel knew there was little time to lose as he cubs peeked out with him.

"Who are they?" Kairi whispered.

"Assassins of Xehanort's," Axel answered. "Come on, we need to move. We can't stay here any longer. Their senses are far more tuned than normal lions, or even most lions in Xehanort's pride. We need to sneak away from here as quickly as possible and then keep moving. As soon as they find this cave they're going to be on our trail."

"But you're hurt," Kairi gasped. "You'll never make it far."

"I'll make it as far as we have to go," Axel growled.

"Kairi we need to do as Axel says," Riku said quietly. "I don't doubt that they'll attack us if they find us here, and especially Axel. If we stay here, it won't be pretty."

"So what do we do?" Sora asked.

"Follow my lead," Axel replied.

Slowly Axel stepped out of the cave and onto the forest floor. Across the river there was a large section of rock. When running from pursuers, that would be the best bet, and that's probably the path that Xemnas and the others would have taken to keep others off their trail. However, there was also a dense forest that began on the other side. The ground beneath the canopy above was dry, mostly because little moisture could travel below.

Even so, Axel was careful to step where less of a track would be left in the earth. The three cubs followed just behind, Riku beginning to follow just as carefully in Axel's paw prints. Catching on, Sora and Kairi silently did the same. Axel was grateful for it though. It meant they'd only see one set of prints leaving the cave, and it would make them more difficult to track and possibly catch them off guard if they did see him with allies.

He knew too though that they'd be able to tell that he was walking with a heavy limp on his right side, trying to keep the pressure as much as possible off of his injured side. That would mean they would know he couldn't move fast, and they'd be going as fast as they could to find him. Even so, he was careful to make a path in the direction of the deeper forest. It would be easier to lose anyone following them there.

He kept his eyes on the three across the stream as he walked until he got too far ahead to strain his neck by looking back there. He carefully continued to make his way forward then, hoping that they wouldn't notice them going into the trees. The forest began to grow thicker, and as they reached the heavier underbrush, he took a moment to pause and look back.

They hadn't seen them. They were still staring at the water and testing its depths. Assassins were often good liars, but he knew that Xehanort knew he had betrayed him and helped his squad escape. They'd think he was dead, but if they saw him they'd be trying to force their way across the river as quickly as possible and kill him. They wouldn't be pretending they couldn't see him, especially since they would blatantly see he was injured.

Satisfied that they weren't going to be chased, at least not right away, and that the coming winter rains would wash away the scent and possibly the tracks as well, he turned and continued farther into the forest, just concentrating on getting as far away from the cave as he could push himself. He certainly didn't want to be caught out in the open at least when the rains came down. The air was already heavy with the scent of moisture.

Sora's constant stream of questions was now silenced, as were the other two. They continued to make their way carefully in Axel's paw prints, sure to be as quiet as possible as they did so. Axel ignored the pain coursing through his battered body and continued forward, making sure to walk carefully as to leave the least amount of pad prints in dirt as possible.

Axel continued this path carefully, and they soon reached the rocks he had been heading for. He didn't pick up the pace though as he did, making sure to hunker as close to the ground as his injured side would let him. Still, the young cubs continued to mimic him as he led them carefully across the rocks. Instead of going straight however, he turned and began cutting a path at an odd angle across the rocks towards the canyon walls on this side of the river.

He was doing this purposefully, since they would be tracking mud for quite a while as they walked. They might not suspect this was him trying to fake them out as he did so, because the walls would be familiar, secure, and less in the open than the rest of the rocky formations around them. Axel continued walking this way, carefully treading and making his way over towards the canyon walls. Upon nearly reaching them, he paused and noticed that they had yet to cross the river, and yet not notice them. He paused, wincing as his sore side pulled, and checked the pads of all of the cub's feet. Once he was satisfied that they weren't going to track anymore mud, he turned and began cutting in a new direction, towards the plains on this side of the river.

With any luck, they wouldn't see them making their way this way and his ruse would work, at least for a little while. He was still dealing with the Assassins of Xehanort, so he doubted they wouldn't eventually catch onto what he was doing and turn to make their way after him. Still, he was glad that the cubs didn't question him as they followed, seeming to be able to sense that he was trying to lose the lions following them. Maybe they didn't understand why he was moving this way, but at least they understood he knew exactly what he was doing.

He could tell, glancing just slightly back at Riku, that the oldest cub could definitely tell that he was not the kind of lion to be trifled with. He was a lean and powerful fighting machine, and he was confident now as he moved. Still, Axel was a little surprised to see that the cub still trusted him. He could tell that he was much better than he appeared to be with that laid back attitude, and he had a very specific skill set. Yet the cub truly seemed to be able to trust him. Axel couldn't really comprehend it. He'd forgotten what it was like to be a normal lion.

They continued walking well into the night, when more rain began to pour down from the sky and drench them all as they walked. Axel was reluctant to stop, knowing that those chasing him would not, but he knew that these kids weren't trained in the same ways that he had been. They would probably get sick out in this weather. Finally, after just reaching the plains, they found one of the few remaining rock outcroppings. There was just enough room for all of them to get inside.

Axel motioned the cubs towards it, and Kairi and Sora were quick to leap out of the rain, shaking off their coats and shivering a little. Riku paused a moment, watching Axel, then carefully climbed inside after his smaller friends. Finally, Axel (who was the largest and had one of the darker coats, blending in well with the rocks and long grasses around them) stepped into the rain. Exhausted already for the walk, Axel laid down, laying his head on his paws and trying to fight sleep. He felt uneasy, knowing the Assassins were already after him and his Squad, and he wanted to stay up and keep an eye out. He was already tired and sore though.

At least he was out of the rain, he decided, so he wasn't too bad off. None of the cubs behind him said anything for a long while, just silent as they watched the alert adult in front of him. Axel jumped a little and let out a low growl in surprise as he felt Kairi crawl over and lay her head and paws over his shoulders. None of the cubs seemed to take offense as he shifted nervously, obviously trying to decide if he trusted them or not.

He could tell Kairi was pleased when he finally forced himself to relax and not push her away. It wasn't in his nature to be so trusting of three strangers he'd just met, not even cubs. Sora quickly leaped over, joining Kairi and draping his small frame across Axel's back. The larger lion's tail flicked, but he suffered the touch. After all, even his Squad had done similar things when they had decided to drift off to sleep. Finally, Riku curled up with his side against the two smaller cubs and Axel's side, laying his head down and closing his eyes.

Axel had forced himself to relax, but he still felt tense. His every instinct rebelled against the unfamiliar touch. He couldn't trust these lions, he hardly knew him. He had been trained to be nothing more than a merciless killer, though the few bonds he had forged were strong. Yet as he heard all three cubs begins snoring lightly, he reminded himself that they were just cubs, Keys at that, and they weren't going to hurt him.

Slowly he turned his head to glance back at the three cubs. Strange, how only just before the battle they'd fought, they'd seemed wary of him. Yet now they seemed so forgiving of his every action, like it were something they pitied but could understand. They truly were some of the most confusing creatures he had ever met. Slowly however he laid his own head down.

He tried to stay awake for a while, trying to keep a vigilant watch just in case. However it soon became apparent that he was failing at that. Finally, exhausted and unable to keep fighting, he let out a soft sigh and closed his own eyes to sleep. He knew his battered body needed the rest if it was to get any better at all.

Yeah, that was it. He needed rest to get better, because he wasn't just looking after himself now. He had to survive to see his Squad again, however long that took, but he also had to keep these cubs safe. They had someone they needed to see too, and Axel knew just how painful that separation could truly be. He almost had to laugh as he drifted to sleep.

Xira must have been rubbing off on him. He was going soft.

* * *

 **So there's finally chapter nine. Mostly it was just building Axel's slow progress to normalcy, as well as his relationship towards these three cubs. I'm sorry these updates are taking so long, but I won't be giving up on these stories. If that ever changes, I'll let you all know.**


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